


Wayhaught Wallyworld

by BlueKatu



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Curse, F/F, Fluff and Humor
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-10
Updated: 2019-10-15
Packaged: 2020-01-10 19:50:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 41,683
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18414698
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlueKatu/pseuds/BlueKatu
Summary: It was Waverly’s first week on the job. Cashiering at Clootie’s Co-Op wasn’t glamorous, but it was just for some extra cash, and the fact they were willing to work around her class schedule definitely helped.ORWaverly works part time in retail and meets Nicole.





	1. Clootie's Co-Op

It was Waverly’s first week on the job. Cashiering at Clootie’s Co-Op wasn’t glamorous, but it was just for some extra cash, and the fact they were willing to work around her class schedule definitely helped.  
  
She stood at the register only half listening to Betty teach her the proper bagging technique, something about 6 items per bag. A commotion near the customer service counter was getting most of her attention. Willa and Wynonna, her two older sisters, were arguing about something. When Wynonna caught her staring she made her way over and interrupted Betty mid-sentence.  
  
“Hey Babygirl, can you tell stick up her ass that carrying Peacemaker will only encourage the sale of guns.”, Wynonna said.  
  
She gestured to her hip like a game show host waiting for Waverly to reply, and nodded her head to encourage her to agree. Wynonna worked in outdoor living and sporting goods, which included fire arms. She insisted that carrying her great great grandfather’s Colt .45 Revolver, deemed Peacemaker, would encourage customers to arm themselves. Though Waverly thought she just liked to intimidate her coworkers.  
  
“Wy, I think you just like to scare people.”  
  
“See? Even Waverly knows that doesn’t make sense, and it’s only her first week.” Willa winked at Waverly before walking away.  
  
Wynonna rolled her eyes and used her hand like a mouth to mimic her older sister as Waverly shook her head.  
  
“Alright, you got me. I just like to keep people on their toes.” Wynonna laughed, “What time are you taking lunch? Or are you going with Chum- I mean Champ?” She corrected herself when she saw Waverly’s eyes narrow.  
  
She responded with a hint of irritation in her voice, “I’m going with Champ at one o’clock, he didn’t pack anything, so we’re eating at Sub Haven.” She pointed toward the sandwich shop at the other end of the registers and scrunched her face in disgust.   
  
She’d been with Champ for a few years now, they met freshman year of college in English 101, before he dropped out to pursue his rodeo dreams. At first she had no interest in him, but he was persistent and now she liked to think they were destined for a long life together. Lately his lack of responsibility was getting on her nerves though. Even simple things like not packing himself a lunch.  
  
“Well, what if I don’t let him go at one o’clock?” Wynonna teased while patting Peacemaker, “do you really want to eat there?” She asked more seriously, “I know you brought a lunch.”  
  
“No, I don’t want to eat there, but I promised him we’d go together, and he’ll just make me wait for him.” She appreciated her sister looking out for her, but she’d just have to listen to him whine about it later.  
  
“Suit yourself! I need to go look at the schedule, I’ll be in the back if you need me.” She spun on her heel to walk away before turning around to add, “by the way, he’s been stocking manure all morning, you’re welcome!”  
  
Waverly rubbed her face with her hands and groaned. Not only did she have to eat at Sub Haven, now she had to deal with Champ smelling like sweat and manure. She knew Wynonna was enjoying her misery just a little bit.  
  
…  
  
  
By the time one o’clock rolled around Waverly’s stomach was growling ferociously. Betty was just finishing up with their last customer before lunch break and that afternoon she would be on her own register. Champ was standing impatiently up against the wall near the bathrooms. She could tell he was about to say something rude when she walked up to him.  
  
“Man, that old lady takes forever, she’s so slow.” He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and kissed her temple, “I’m like starving babe, come on.”  
  
She was annoyed with both what he said and that he was practically dragging her along, “She’s in her 70’s Champ, what is wrong with you?” She stopped abruptly forcing him to look at her and tapped her foot waiting for him to apologize.  
  
“Ok, ok. Sorry. Can we eat now?” No actual hint of sincerity in his voice. Waverly was too hungry to argue with him, so for now she decided to let it go.  
  
She stared at the menu looking for something appetizing, but settled for a veggie wrap. She grabbed some hummus, did a quick self check out and sat down across from Champ, who was grinning excitedly at his steak and cheese.  
  
“So, you must like Betty cause she’s old right?” He said with his mouth full, “I mean, you’re really into that history stuff, and she basically is history, right?” He smiled at what he thought was some really clever joke.  
  
“No Champ, I like her because she’s nice. She’s not history.” She snapped at him before taking a giant bite, mostly to stop herself from saying anything more.  
  
He started babbling on about his rodeo training before she noticed someone over his shoulder staring at her. She ducked a little to hide when she realized it was Tucker Gardner. She always tried to be nice to him, but he creeped her out. Even if Champ was sitting right there he would ask her to go out with him. She didn’t know he worked here. His sisters owned The Widows Peak, the salon that was built into the store, though she didn’t imagine he worked there with them. Champ must have noticed her hiding and turned around to see what she was looking at.  
  
“What’s your problem, Gardner?” He spat out through gritted teeth.  
  
“Champ, Waverly, what a pleasant surprise.” He grabbed a chip and popped it into his mouth, “Waverly you’re looking beautiful today.” He smirked in Champ’s direction.  
  
“Um, thanks Tucker.” She forced a smile. “I didn’t know you worked here.” She watched Champ’s hand start to ball into a fist.  
  
“Oh yeah, started about a month ago, I practically run the electronics department.” He said smugly.  
  
“Oh please, you can barely turn on a television.” Champ argued.  
  
“Champ, it’s ok. It’s not worth it. Besides, Nedley is coming.” She tilted her head in the direction of the approaching Sheriff.  
  
Nedley walked up to the counter to order, Waverly watched and hoped Tucker and Champ would stop arguing long enough for him to get his food and go. She regarded Nedley as a father figure. Her and Chrissy, his daughter, have been best friends since before they could talk. He had also worked with her father Ward, before he died. At that point she had stopped paying attention to Champ and Tucker until she heard them get louder.  
  
“Maybe you need to learn to keep your mouth shut, Gardner!” Champ stood up, both hands balled into fists at his side.  
  
“There a problem here, gentlemen?” Nedley was between them faster than Waverly thought possible. When he didn’t get an answer from either of them, he tried again. “Waverly, you wanna tell me what’s going on?” He leaned around Champ to look at her.  
  
“Oh, they were arguing about the electronics department. I kind of checked out.” It was mostly the truth, they had been arguing about electronics when she stopped listening, but their feud has been going for years.  
  
“No, we were arguing because this weasel…” Champ started but was cut off by the sound of Tucker’s chair scraping the floor as he got up and walked around them.  
  
“No worries Sir, I was just leaving.” Tucker said smoothly as he walked past Nedley. “Waverly, have a wonderful day.” He winked at her before exiting the shop.  
  
Waverly was feeling uneasy about Tucker working there. He’s been like this since she can remember. Wynonna and Mercedes, Tucker’s oldest sister, were practically inseparable growing up. Which left Waverly to hang out with Beth, the middle of the Gardner’s, and of course Tucker. Champ tried to reassure her by saying he’d ‘kick Tucker’s ass’ if he came anywhere near her, but she honestly felt like he wasn’t worth the energy.  
  
She watched Nedley sit down with someone she’d never seen before. He was tall, muscular, and had almost a military look to him. Their conversation looked serious, and it was obvious by how they were whispering, they didn’t want anyone to hear them.  
  
…  
  
  
Once her lunch break was over Willa set her up in the express lane, just so she could get used to being by herself without feeling overwhelmed. It was actually pretty underwhelming, the store itself wasn’t very busy either. Willa’s long time boyfriend Robert walked up to her register and smiled. She’s known him most of her life, and though he used to pick on her when she was a kid, he was much friendlier now.  
  
“Waverly, how is your first week going?” He placed some bread and lunch meats on the belt.  
  
“Oh, you know, not so bad. Though I didn’t know Tucker worked here.” She rolled her eyes. Robert had stopped Tucker from pestering her at the local bar once and knew the situation.  
  
“Ah, yes, him. I think he only works over there so he can be in the photo lab and peep at people’s pictures.” He raised his eyebrows suggestively and laughed.  
  
She nodded in agreement, “That really wouldn’t surprise me, actually.” She finished scanning his items, “That’ll be $8.57.” She watched as he swiped his card in the reader.  
  
“If Tucker gives you any trouble, let Doc or I know.” His face was serious, “I mean it.” He finished the card transaction and turned to her smiling, “I’ll see you later kid.” He walked off to meet up with Willa for lunch.  
  
…  
  
  
The rest of her shift was uneventful, she only had about 25 customers come through her line. Wynonna had told her to wait for the weekends and it would be packed. She closed the register, balanced her cash drawer, and emptied the trash before clocking out for the day. Halfway to her jeep she remembered she had no food in her apartment and turned back around. She grabbed a small basket and headed into the aisles. Chrissy was currently staying with her after her most recent break up, so she sent her a quick text asking if she needed anything. A familiar voice pulled her from staring at the oatmeal, which she’d been doing for the last few minutes trying to decide which kind to buy.  
  
“Miss Waverly, I do believe your shift ended not long ago.” John Henry, affectionately known as Doc, walked up to stand next to her. “What on earth are you still doing here?” He placed his hands on his hips and leaned back on one foot.  
  
Doc owns and operates the local distillery and is one of the main vendors for the co-op. His whiskey, cleverly named Nostrumdamus features an old fashioned hat and full mustache, similar to Doc’s,  embossed on a blue background. Several years ago he partnered with Robert. Bobo’s Bourbon was second only to their whiskey. Similar to Nostrumdamus, that label featured a slicked back mohawk and full beard on a green background, and was named after Willa’s nickname for him.  
  
“Hey Doc. I have no food,” her voice sounded tired, “and now I’m having an oatmeal crisis.” She gestured to the shelves in front of her.  
  
He let out a hearty laugh. “Only you would call picking out oatmeal a crisis.” He shook his head. “I’m afraid I can’t be of any help to you, but you have yourself a lovely evening.” He tipped his hat and continued down the aisle in the direction he was previously headed.  
  
Once she decided on an oatmeal and grabbed a few other essentials Chrissy had asked her for, she headed to the produce department. She hadn’t had fresh fruits or vegetables for a week and needed to stock up. While she was picking out peppers for a stir fry she wanted to make, movement in her peripheral vision distracted her. She turned her head and again she found herself staring, as if in a trance. Except this time she was staring at the tall red head that had just started stocking tomatoes.


	2. Weavaly

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Waverly can't quite pinpoint what it is about this tall red head she'd met.

Waverly couldn’t look away as the woman lifted and stacked the boxes with ease, though she had no idea why she found her so mesmerizing. It wasn’t until she’d vanished that Waverly was able to go back to picking out peppers. She also grabbed some summer squash, zucchini and snap peas. The last thing she needed was an onion, which of course, were on the top shelf. They were piled high and when she grabbed one it was like she’d started an avalanche.  
  
“Well, there goes my masterpiece.” Someone from behind her commented sarcastically.  
  
She turned around to see the redhead watching the onions roll across the floor and felt her voice catch in her throat.  
  
She finally blurted out, “I am so sorry,” while hurrying to try and pick them all up.   
  
She watched the other woman bend down to grab the few at her feet. As she stood back up she held her apron out like a basket to carry them all. She then held it out to Waverly, who carefully placed all the onions she’d collected inside.  
  
“I probably shouldn’t have piled them quite so high.” She titled her head slightly looking at the crate of onions. “Thanks a lot for your help.” The taller woman bunched the apron up and held out a hand to Waverly, “I’m Nicole, you work up at the registers, right?”  
  
Waverly took her hand and swore she felt electricity shoot through her body. It wasn’t until her phone rang that she realized they’d been holding hands longer than people normally did. She tentatively pulled away and excused herself.  
  
“Champ.” She hoped he couldn’t hear the irritation in her voice.  
  
“Babe, are you still at the store? I just left and it looked like your jeep was in the parking lot.”  
  
“I had to grab a few things before I left.”

Nicole told her it was nice to meet her and she moved the phone away from her face to wish her a good night.  
  
“Who the hell was that?” Champ asked with a jealous tone.  
  
“That was the girl who works in produce, I’m about to check out.” She hoped he would get off the phone.  
  
“You’re about to check out the girl from produce? What the hell?”  
  
“No. I meant I need to go pay.” She stopped and thought about his assumption briefly and felt herself blush a little before shaking it off.  
  
He insisted on talking to her until she was done, so she pretended to listen to him go on about some new video game he wanted. She purposely picked a lane where she could stand facing produce and watched Nicole move about the department, seemingly oblivious to the eyes on her. When she approached the automatic doors she chanced another quick glance, and was surprised to see her refilling the flowers right near the entrance. She gave her a small wave before heading out into the parking lot. It wasn’t until she was halfway home she realized she never told Nicole her name.  
  
…  
  
  
Chrissy was sitting on the couch with textbooks spread across the coffee table when Waverly entered the apartment. She said hello, but Chrissy was so engrossed in her studies she didn’t even acknowledge her. She was taking on a full course load this semester toward her degree in anthropology, plus dealing with finding her own place now. Waverly knew how stressed out she was and didn’t take any offense to her friend not hearing her.  
  
She went to the kitchen, put away the groceries, and started cutting up the vegetables for stir fry. The wine glasses she was taking out of the cabinet clinked together, and of course that pulled Chrissy from her homework. Waverly poured two glasses and handed one to her friend that was now leaning against the counter.  
  
“Thanks Waves, I didn’t even realize you’d come in.” She said before taking a sip and sitting down at the table.  
  
“No problem.” She smiled, “Stir fry sound ok for dinner?”  
  
“Mmm, yeah.” Chrissy was never one to complain when she didn’t have to cook for herself. “So, how was your day?”  
  
“It was ok, Champ forgot lunch so we ate at Sub Haven, where I ran into Tucker. I had no idea he worked there, but at least he’s all the way in electronics.”  
  
Chrissy laughed, “Did you expect Champ to remember lunch? I mean really. He’s a child.” Though Waverly knew her friend meant well, she glared at her anyway, but Chrissy ignored it and continued on. “Tucker is a creep, don’t let him get to you. Seriously.”  
  
“I’ll try, but to top it all off, I caused onions to go tumbling all over the floor, embarrassing myself in front of Nicole.” She let out a sigh at the memory.  
  
“And who is Nicole?” Chrissy asked with amusement in her voice.  
  
Just the tall gorgeous red head in the produce department, she thought to herself, and felt the smile tug at the corners of her mouth. She was grateful she was facing the stove, and Chrissy couldn’t see her. She forced her face into a neutral position wondering where that even came from.  
  
“Oh, she’s a girl who works in produce.” She turned to face Chrissy who looked deep in thought.  
  
“Is she a tall red head?” She looked like she was trying to remember something, but waited for Waverly to nod a confirmation. “Actually, I think I saw Tucker over there following her around while I was having lunch with my dad at Sub Haven the other day.” She rolled her eyes.  
  
Though she had always been the main object of Tucker’s affections, he’d still try to hit on every woman he could. Chrissy has been on the receiving end of his attention on more than one occasion and concurred with every feeling of being creeped out Waverly had described. She felt bad for Nicole having to endure that while she was trying to work.  
  
She turned off the stove causing Chrissy to jump up and excitedly grab plates from the cabinet. They served themselves and headed to the living room, put on some show about flipping houses and they talked about their classes, Chrissy’s break up, and why Wynonna still thought carrying Peacemaker would sell more guns. After dinner Waverly retreated to her bedroom, got into pajamas and started trying to focus on her senior thesis.  
  
…  
  
Her alarm blaring at 7:00 the next morning surprised her, she didn’t remember setting it. She grabbed her phone, and there was a sticky note attached. ‘Set your alarm for you. You were out cold. You’re welcome, Chrissy.’ There was an arrow drawn on the bottom, so she flipped it over. ‘P.S. you owe me.’ She looked down and realized she’d fallen asleep in the middle of studying. She saw her books piled on her desk neatly. She definitely owed her one.  
  
She texted Chrissy once her last class was over and asked if she wanted a coffee, but told her she’d have to meet her at work. When she finally got to the register the barista looked more than a little miffed. She quickly ordered Chrissy’s usual caramel macchiato, and a latte with almond milk for herself.  
  
The girl behind the counter unenthusiastically rang up her drinks and told her they’d be ready in a minute. When they were done, she thanked the girl and headed out the door. She read the cups to make sure which was which before taking a sip, and laughed when she read the names Christie and Weavaly.  
  
“Finally!” She heard Chrissy yell. She was sitting on a bench just outside the building.  
  
“Alright Christie, calm down.” She laughed at her friend’s curious expression, and handed her the cup.  
  
“Ah, yes, Christie. Perfect. I always wanted to add a t to my name.” She took a sip while she grabbed Waverly’s cup and almost spit it right back out, but managed to get it down. “Weavaly, that is so much worse than Christie.” She laughed.  
  
“Ha ha, very funny.” Waverly scowled. “I need to get to work, I’ll talk to you later.” She hugged Chrissy goodbye and ran inside.  
  
When she made it to the back of the store she put her lunch bag in the refrigerator before heading to the restrooms to change into her uniform. She went to clock in for her shift and realized she’d forgotten her badge in the jeep. She now had to run all the way there and back, and of course she parked far away.   
  
Somehow managing to make it just in time, she scanned her badge and clocked in. She placed her coffee cup on the floor in front of her and rested her hands on her legs, hunching over while trying to breathe.  
  
“You know, it’s better if you place your hands above your head, to give your lungs room to expand.”  
  
A pair of worn out pumas appeared next to her coffee. When she looked up she saw Nicole, arms outstretched above her head, a tiny bit of skin showing between the bottom of her shirt and top of her khakis. She mimicked the movement and tried to steady her breathing. Waverly knew, in theory, Nicole was right. Normally she’d be irritated with someone telling her how to do something, but Nicole standing there like that, trying to help, was kind of adorable.  
  
“Uh, thanks.” She hurriedly grabbed her coffee and started to walk away. She’d made it about six steps before she turned around and walked back. “I’m Waverly, by the way.”  
  
Nicole raised an eyebrow and nodded toward her coffee cup. “So, it’s not Weavaly?” Waverly shook her head and laughed. “Well I’m glad you told me, that could have been really embarrassing.”  
  
She watched Nicole smile widely, putting her dimples on full display. “Definitely could have been awkward.” She tapped the top of her cup nervously, “I have to get to work, but I’ll see you around?” The inflection at the end made it sound like a question, though she didn’t intend it to be one.  
  
“Indeed you will.”  
  
She said goodbye and started down the hallway. She looked back quickly to see Nicole hadn’t yet moved from where she was standing.  
  
…  
  
When she got home after her shift she was exhausted, but knew she needed to study. Much like Chrissy the night before, she spread her papers and books all across the coffee table. She took out her contacts, changed into pajamas and made herself some herbal tea. After several hours she heard the door to her apartment swing open.  
  
“Weavaly, I’m home,” Chrissy practically sang.  
  
They both laughed at the ridiculous name, and Chrissy walked over to plop herself down next to her friend on the couch. She threw her head back dramatically and sighed. Without Waverly even asking what was wrong, Chrissy recalled her extremely frustrating day, filled with classes and looking at possible apartments, she explained that’s how she ended up at Shorty’s. Once Waverly managed to get a slightly inebriated Chrissy to bed, she moved her studying into her room, but sat at the desk this time, to avoid falling asleep.  
  
At some point sleep must have won the battle though, she woke up at her desk abruptly when she heard her phone ringing. She glanced at the clock, which read 3:30 AM. When she looked at her phone she saw two messages and a missed call from Wynonna.  
  
Wynonna: Weavaly!!!  
Wynonna: Yes, Chrissy told me. That’s officially your new name.   
  
Of course Chrissy told Wynonna about the ridiculous misspelling of her name on that stupid coffee cup. She knew this would be Wynonna’s new drunken nickname for her. Her phone started ringing while she was still holding it. The ID showed it was the sheriff’s office, though she was certain it was Willa’s turn to bail Wynonna out. She answered the phone and was greeted with an all too chipper Officer Lonnie. He wasn’t calling about Wynonna this time though. Champ got into a fight and told them to call her to pick him up.


	3. The Wet Wall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Waverly deals with Champ at the police station.

Waverly told Lonnie she’d be there as soon as possible and hung up the phone. She snuck out of the apartment and into the dark, cold morning. The world was quiet, and the sound of her footsteps echoed into the air.  Once her jeep was warmed up a little she headed toward the police station. Her phone started ringing about half way there, but this time it was Wynonna.  
  
“Isn’t it Willa’s turn to pick you up?” Her question was laced with irritation.  
  
“Woah Weavaly, who put a hole in your basket?” She laughed at her own joke, “get it? Like a woven… never mind. That’s not why I’m calling.”  
  
“Sorry Wy. I’m on my way to get Champ, apparently he got into some drunken bar fight.” She felt bad for snapping at her sister.  
  
“Yeah, he and Tucker got into it at Shorty’s. If there’s one thing I hate more than the rodeo clown, it’s that creepy Gardner kid” she paused when Waverly grunted into the phone at her nickname for Champ, “So I had to jump in and help the Chump out.”  
  
“Where are you now exactly?” She asked, preparing to have to drive Wynonna back to the homestead, their childhood home her and Willa still lived in.  
  
“I got a ride from the station already, we’ll be pulling up to the homestead soon.” She gave whoever was driving her directions. “Lucky for me Haught-sauce happened to be at the bar tonight too.”  
  
“Who is hot sauce?” She’d never heard the name before.  
  
“You don’t know Haught?” Wynonna sounded surprised. “She says you met the other night when you dumped her onions all over the floor.”  
  
“You mean Nicole?” Waverly was still confused by the nickname. “Wait, why do you call her hot sauce?”  
  
“Dude, her last name is Haught.” Wynonna continued talking, but Waverly wasn’t comprehending any of it at this point.  
  
“Of course it is.” Waverly mumbled. She thought the last name was, ironically, quite fitting for the tall red head.  
  
“Babygirl, you ok there?” Wynonna asked when she realized her sister wasn’t listening.  
  
“What? Oh, yeah.” She pulled into the police station and parked. “Ok, I’m at the station. I need to let you go. Please tell Nicole I owe her one for driving you home.”  
  
Once she’d hung up the phone, she turned off the ignition and walked into the station. Lonnie was sitting behind the desk talking to Beth Gardner. Another officer was escorting Tucker from the holding cells, his right eye was bruised and it looked like he had a cut on his chin. When he spotted Waverly his usual creepy smirk appeared.  
  
“Waverly, I didn’t know you were coming to pick me up.” He emphasized the ‘pick me up’ and winked at her.  
  
Before she could answer Beth cut in. “Waverly! I didn’t even see you there, how have you been?” She placed herself so she was blocking her brothers view.  
  
“Well, I’m here, right?” She looked up to see Beth smiling at her.  
  
“Same.” Beth’s tone of voice implied she was less than impressed with Tucker’s antics. “Just the place you want to be at 4 o’clock in the morning.”  
  
She turned back to Lonnie and Waverly could see the look of jealousy on Tucker’s face. In high school he caught them kissing and has hated them being near each other ever since. Sometimes Waverly wonders what could have happened had he not walked in on them. She heard Lonnie tell them they were free to go, breaking her from her reminiscing, and as Tucker made his way around the desk he tried to walk straight toward her. Beth quickly, once again, put herself between them as Waverly took a step back.  
  
“Tucker, let’s go, you’ve caused enough trouble for one night.” Beth redirected him toward the door. “Bye Waverly, it was nice to see you.” She said over her shoulder as she practically shoved Tucker out of the station.  
  
Waverly walked up to the desk and Lonnie gave her a sympathetic smile. She talked to him for a few minutes while she waited for the other officer to get Champ. Much like Tucker, Champ had a black eye and a few scratches. She thanked Lonnie before they left the station and got into her jeep.  
  
“What were you thinking Champ?” She started driving in the direction of his house.  
  
“Babe, c’mon. He started it.” Champ whined at her. “Can I stay at your place?” Even in the dark she could see him pouting at her.  
  
“Ugh, fine.” She turned toward her apartment. “But only to sleep, don’t get any ideas.”  
  
“But babe…”  
  
“Don’t start or I will turn around and drive you home.” She cut him off.  
  
“Fine.” He crossed his arms and puffed out a breath not saying anything further.  
  
They entered the apartment around 4:35 in the morning and Waverly was thankful she didn’t have any classes that day. Champ tripped and fell into the wall with a thud, so she told him to go get into bed while she got him a glass of water and something for his inevitable headache. She walked into the bedroom, to the sound of him snoring, placed the water and medicine on the desk and changed into pajamas. Once she settled into bed she immediately she felt the weight of his arm on her and sighed wishing she’d just taken him home.  
  
  
…  
  
While standing at her register several days later, Waverly found herself staring off into space. She hadn’t had a customer for about half an hour until the sound of a bottle being placed on the belt caused her to look up. A very frazzled, tired looking Nicole was standing at her register to buy some chips and a soda.  
  
“Nicole? Are you alright?” Waverly asked, and watched Nicole slowly lift her gaze toward her.  
  
“Waverly.” A smirk formed at the corners of Nicole’s mouth. “I think I recall a drunken birdie telling me you owe me one?”  
  
“Well, that all depends. What can I do for you?”  
  
“Everyone else in produce called out today.” She let out a heavy sigh. “Think you could come help out?” She had a slight pout on her face.  
  
“Let me check with Willa.” Waverly smiled at her.  
  
She watched Nicole walk into Sub Haven, a lot of workers sit in there for their break times instead of walking all the way to the break room in the back of the store. She turned off the light for her register and went over to the managers office to find her sister. She could hear muffled voices behind the door and was apprehensive to interrupt, but decided to go ahead and knock. The door flung open with more force than Waverly thought necessary and she was greeted with the steely gaze of the man she’d seen Nedley speaking to earlier that week.  
  
“Oh, I’m sorry to interrupt, but…” She was cut off by Willa.  
  
“Waverly? Everything ok?” Willa looked slightly concerned.  
  
“Actually, I just spoke to Nicole from produce and she asked if I could help her out today.”  
  
“Has the front end been busy? Wait, why does she need you to help?”  
  
Waverly had assumed Willa would know about the call outs, “She said everyone else called out.” She watched her sisters eyes widen with surprise. “And the front end has been dead all day.”  
  
“Ok yeah, go ahead, just bring your drawer to the cash office first.”  
  
Waverly shut the office door behind her wondering what was being discussed before she knocked. She still didn’t know who the man was, but he had an intense stare and looked a little annoyed to have been interrupted. She took her drawer to the cash office and cleaned up her register area a little before making her way over to the produce department.  
  
She walked in and found Nicole in the cooler, which was packed with pallets full of fresh produce. There were carts full of boxes all over the place, and empty cardboard piled up in the corner. She walked into the cooler only to wish she’d had a sweatshirt to put on. Nicole turned to face her and smiled.  
  
“So what can I do to help?” Waverly asked, feeling slightly overwhelmed by all of it.  
  
“Well, first thing is, don’t try to kill any of the produce today.” She laughed a little when Waverly rolled her eyes. “Ok, so these carts are all product that needs to be brought out and stocked on the floor.”   
  
She grabbed a cart and Waverly followed her over to the section with pre-cut fruit.  
  
“So you can read the boxes to see what’s in them. Basically you just fill the shelves, but make sure anything expiring sooner is in front or on top.” She handed Waverly a box cutter. “If you need anything I’ll be over by the wet wall.”  
  
Waverly laughed, “I’m sorry, the what?”  
  
“The wet wall.” She pointed over to the wall with fresh vegetables.  
  
“Why is it called the wet wall?” Waverly thought the name sounded like a bad innuendo, but noted the water spraying down from the top of the case. “Oh, because of the water.”  
  
Nicole laughed like she knew what Waverly was thinking. “Let me know if you need anything.”  
  
Waverly started working through the boxes on her cart, but found herself slightly distracted watching Nicole work. Something about the other woman drew her in, and she wanted to know her. She thought she’d known everyone who lived in the area, since she grew up here, but she’d never seen her before now.  
  
Once they both worked through all the carts Nicole asked if she could help her break down the pallets and put the new product on the steel shelving units in the cooler. They were in the middle of the first pallet, Nicole was up on a ladder and Waverly was handing her strawberries to stock up on the top shelf. She was trying to ignore how cold she was, but it was getting harder by the minute. Nicole must have noticed because she got down off the ladder and removed her sweatshirt.  
  
“Here, you should put this on.” She held the sweatshirt out to Waverly and looked at her expectantly.  
  
“Oh, I couldn’t take that. Then you’ll be cold.” Waverly protested.  
  
“I insist, besides I’m used to the cold by now.” She was still holding her arm out, “And I’m wearing long sleeves.” She held up her other arm to show it was covered.  
  
“Alright, well, if you insist.” Waverly took the sweatshirt and put it on. It was big and comfortable, and had a faint scent of vanilla.  
  
It took them another couple hours, but they managed to break down all but one pallet. Nicole explained to her how to spray and squeegee the floor and disappeared with the trash and cardboard. She reappeared about twenty minutes later with all the corn on cart and placed it in the cooler. After punching out for the day, they finally headed out the automatic doors into the parking lot.  
  
“So your last name is really Hot?” Waverly asked, “Like H, o, t?”  
  
“My last name is really Haught. Spelled H, a, u, g, h, t. Your sister loves making puns out of it.” Nicole shook her head.  
  
“Oh, I bet she does, sounds like Wynonna. I’m sure I’ll never live down Weavaly.” She laughed.  
  
“Well, Weavaly is a great name.” Nicole stifled a laugh when she saw Waverly squint in mock annoyance. “Thanks for your help today, though I think you went above and beyond what you owed me for driving Wynonna home. I think now I actually owe you one.”  
  
“Well I’ll have to make sure it’s good before I cash it in.” Waverly heard the suggestiveness in her voice. Part of her felt guilty because of Champ, but another part of her was intrigued to find out what it was about Nicole that brought this out in her.  
  
“Then I can’t wait.” Nicole winked at her, “Have a good night, Waverly.” She waved before turning to walk in the opposite direction that Waverly was parked.  
  
As she walked to the jeep she felt a cool breeze and hugged the sweatshirt she was still wearing tighter around her. She turned to try and find where Nicole parked so she could return it, but she was nowhere in sight. She figured it was just a good excuse to have to see Nicole again.


	4. Popped

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Waverly is faced with an unexpected decision.

When Waverly arrived at work for her next shift, she made sure to have Nicole’s sweatshirt with her to return it. She parked in her usual spot and made her way toward the entrance. Champ was waiting for her outside on the bench, he jumped up and ran over as soon as he saw her.  
  
“Babe, are you still mad at me for the other night?” He pouted, “I can only say I’m sorry so many times.”  
  
“Ok Champ.” She huffed out, “you’re forgiven.” He’d been pestering her about it via texts and calls.  
  
He looked at the object slung over her forearm, then back up to her. “What the hell is this?” He snatched it away in anger and held it up to her. “Who does this belong to?” She tried to grab it back but he held it out of her reach.  
  
“I borrowed it when I worked in produce the other night.” She crossed her arms and tapped her foot impatiently at him.  
  
He squinted his eyes at her still holding it up in the air. “You didn’t tell me about that, who’d you work with? That girl, uh, what’s her name?”  
  
“Her name is Nicole.” Waverly corrected him. “And I didn’t think it was important information, she needed help, so I helped.” She had stopped tapping her foot and was instead starting him down.  
  
Before Champ could say anything further someone grabbed the sweatshirt from his hand causing him to spin around quickly.  
  
“I know this is nice, but it doesn’t really seem like your style, Champ.” Nicole quipped, before smiling at him.  
  
“Listen lesbo, stay away from my girlfriend.” Champ said coldly. He turned back to Waverly, “Are you coming?” When Wavelry didn’t answer he mumbled something under his breath and stormed off into the store.  
  
Waverly could still feel the look of shock on her face when she noticed Nicole was now standing closer to her. She was obviously trying to look indifferent to Champ’s words, but Waverly could tell a part of her was really bothered by them.  
  
“Nicole, I am so sorry. He’s just a boy… man, he just…” Waverly started to apologize but stopped when Nicole placed a hand on her shoulder. She could feel the warmth from her palm seep through her shirt.  
  
“A boy-man? Don’t apologize for him, ok?” Her expression was a mixture of serious and pleading. “It’s not your responsibility to take on his shortcomings.”  
  
“Well, I, but… are you ok?” Waverly felt terrible about what Champ said to her. “What he said was completely uncalled for.”  
  
A sad smile appeared on Nicole’s face. “Waverly, I’m fine. I’ve been called worse.”  
  
“I’m sorry to hear that.” Waverly couldn’t imagine the hurt that must have caused Nicole. “Wait, are you working today?” Waverly finally realized she wasn’t in her uniform and was carrying a bag of what appeared to be snacks and water bottles.  
  
“I am, but not here.” Nicole gestured to the building behind her. “I just work here part time for some extra cash.”  
  
Waverly looked her up and down trying to decide what she could possibly do for a job, but had no idea. She was wearing dark grey pants, hiking boots, a flannel and backwards baseball hat. Her red shoulder length hair was tucked behind her ears, and Waverly thought the look was very Nicole.  
  
“Oh. Where else do you work?”  
  
“I’m actually a wildlife conservationist.” Nicole pointed to something behind Waverly. “My team and I are here working to preserve the Pine Barrens and the animals that inhabit it.”  
  
“Really?” Waverly heard the over excitement in her own voice. “Do you know why that land was never used as settlement? The history of that area is pretty fascinating, I’m actually writing my senior thesis on it.”  
  
Nicole titled her head to the side. “I really have to get going, but maybe we could grab dinner after your shift and you can tell me more about it?”  
  
Waverly felt excitement then disappointment, “Oh, I’d love to. Um, like to, but I have dinner plans with Champ already.” She thought about cancelling them.  
  
“Alright, another time.” Nicole smiled widely and started to walk away. She turned and winked at Waverly, “I mean it.”  
  
Waverly watched her walk over to a couple of people waiting by a truck. A beautiful woman taller than herself but shorter than Nicole with long dark hair and an impatient stance. The other was a smaller framed man who was grinning widely and awkwardly giving Nicole a thumbs up.  They were both staring at Waverly with a knowing look. Nicole turned and gave her one last wave before getting into the drivers seat.  
  
…  
  
  
Despite the store being relatively busy, Waverly couldn’t stop thinking about her conversation with Nicole earlier. More specifically the feeling of warmth from Nicole’s hand on her shoulder. It was like she instantly felt safe and grounded. She never felt that way with Champ. She was pulled from her musing by Wynonna who snuck up on her at some point.  
  
“Earth to Waverly.” Wynonna whispered in her ear from right behind her.  
  
Waverly jumped up and clasped her hand over her heart. “God Wynonna, what the hell?” She turned to see a devilish grin on her sisters face.  
  
“Are you taking lunch with that rodeo wanna be again?” She rolled her eyes.  
  
“I was supposed to, but I was hoping to avoid him as long as possible after this morning.” She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back against the register.  
  
“What did that asshole do now?” Wynonna asked.  
  
Waverly wasn’t sure if telling Wynonna would be a good idea, but she was mad and didn’t really care at the time. “He called Nicole a lesbo and told her to stay away from me, after snatching her sweatshirt out of my hand and acting like I was hiding something.”  
  
Wynonna’s face deadpanned. “I’ll be right back.”  
  
Waverly watched her sister storm off toward the outdoor living area and knew Champ was in for a terrible afternoon. She glanced at the clock only to realize she still had about two hours before her lunch break, which was unfortunate because she could already hear her stomach growling. Several minutes later Wynonna returned looking pretty pleased with herself.  
  
“Guess what baby girl? No lunch with Champ!”  
  
“Wy? What did you do?” For once Waverly was grateful for her sisters interference.  
  
“I may or may not have insisted that Champ take lunch now, because he needs to switch out the displays before the end of his shift.” She shrugged.  
  
Waverly laughed. “For once, I’m not even mad.” She put her hand up to give her sister a high five and felt her worry start to dissolve.  
  
“You should take lunch with me and Dolls then!” Wynonna said loudly as she started to back away, nodding to indicate Waverly now had customers.  
  
“Wait! Who is Dolls?” She watched Wynonna spin around and keep walking without answering the question.  
  
…  
  
  
Waverly checked her phone and saw a text from Wynonna saying to meet in the managers office for lunch, and that they ordered food already. She walked to the back of the store to clock out, then made her way to the office. When she opened the door she saw Willa, Wynonna, Doc, Robert and the man she’d now seen a couple times. Once speaking to Nedley and the other to Willa, and determined that he must be Dolls.  
  
“We got chinese!” Wynonna announced loudly. “We even ordered you that tofu you’re always eating.”  
  
Waverly rolled her eyes and took a seat between Doc and Wynonna. She assumed they were off again since they weren’t seated next to each other. She stopped trying to keep track of their relationship a long time ago. As far as she could tell, Doc was in love with Wynonna, but she wasn’t one for settling down. Though he was the only one she never distanced herself from completely.  
  
“Waverly.” Willa gestured toward the unfamiliar man. “Meet Dolls. He’s now in charge of Asset Protection.”  
  
Dolls stood up and held his hand out to Waverly. “Nice to meet you Waverly.” He didn’t smile, but he also didn’t frown. His expression remained unreadable as they shook hands.  
  
“Likewise, though if you don’t mind me asking, if you’re working here, why were you speaking with Sheriff Nedley?”  
  
“Right, that.” He adjusted his tie and glanced toward Willa. “Once Willa offered me the job I wanted to ensure local law enforcement would be available and ready if anything should arise in the store.”  
  
Waverly accepted the answer with a nod, for now, though she found him a bit intense for this job. She’d have thought he was an officer based off his demeanor, and as far as she knew AP was mostly there to verify no one was stealing. He seemed to think worst case scenario and he just started.  
  
Wynonna threw something at Doc, breaking up the tension in the room, and everyone was laughing, trying to avoid anything else that might be thrown at them. The rest of the time was filled with mindless banter, mostly between Wynonna and Willa.  
  
…  
  
  
Waverly heard a knock on the door at 7:15, though Champ was supposed to be there before 7:00 to pick her up. She was putting the finishing touches on her make up when the pounding grew more impatient. Once she was finished she put on her heels and opened the door. Champ seemed indifferent to her appearance, despite her putting in a lot of effort to look nice for their date.  
  
“Babe, you finally ready? We’re going to be late.” He said, just as he crossed the threshold into the apartment.  
  
“You’re the one that’s late.” She was hurt, and insulted that he didn’t even notice her.  
  
“You’re right, I’m sorry.” He finally took the time to look at her. “You look hot though.” He smiled.  
  
For once she wished he would just say she looked beautiful. He always used words like sexy or hot. Deciding to let it go, again, she grabbed her purse and followed him out to his truck. He had refused to tell her where they were going, and only told her to dress up. She hoped that meant he was taking her somewhere other than the bar. She didn’t mind the bar, she loved Gus and Shorty, the owners, but it wasn’t her idea of a date.  
  
During the drive to where ever they were going she really wanted to bring up what he said to Nicole, and let him know how uncalled for it was. To her surprise though he brought it up first.  
  
“Babe, I’m sorry about this morning, I’m just under a lot of stress.” He paused to look at her once they were at a stop light.  
  
“I’m not the one you need to apologize to, but thank you.” She was shocked, Champ almost never apologized unless she made him.  
  
“No, you’re right. I will say something to Nicole when I see her.” He turned back to face forward when the light turned green.  
  
About fifteen minutes later he pulled into the parking lot of Trulli, an Italian restaurant Waverly had been dying to try. He got out of the drivers side and made his way to her door, opening it for her. He helped her out of the truck, since it was pretty high off the ground. Once her feet were securely on the ground he offered her his arm. Waverly was surprised, she couldn’t remember the last time Champ made an effort like this when they went out.  
  
Initially she thought he was making up for his recent behavior, but when they entered the restaurant and he gave them his name the hostess took them straight away, despite there being other parties waiting. The table was set with candles and a bottle of champagne.  
  
“What’s the occasion, Champ?” Wavelry asked, now slightly suspicious of how elaborate this dinner was.  
  
“What?” He was clearly taken aback by the question. “No occasion babe, we just haven’t been out for a while, and I wanted to treat you.” He smiled at her.  
  
They sat down and looked over their menus. Waverly was watching Champ to try and get any clues, but he seemed to be acting fine, if not slightly more romantic than normal. They placed their orders, popped open the bottle of champagne and poured themselves a glass each. To her surprise he asked her about her classes and senior thesis, something he never wanted to hear about since he decided to leave college. Though she was happily telling him all about it, his expression told her he’d stopped listening. She couldn’t help but wonder if Nicole would have been this disinterested in something she was passionate about. Once he picked up his phone she stopped talking all together. She waited for him to notice, but he seemed preoccupied by something until he abruptly got up from the table and pulled something out of his pocket. He knelt down in front of her before looking up with an apprehensive look on his face.  
  
“Waverly, I know I’ve been kind of a jerk lately, and I’m sorry.” He was fidgeting with the object in his hand. “I’ve been planning this for a while, and I’m really nervous, so I’m just going to say it.” He popped open a ring box and held it out to her. “Babe, will you marry me?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posted a day early because I'll be getting ready to go on a mini vacation tomorrow!


	5. Knight In Worn Out Pumas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Does Waverly say yes to Champ?

As Waverly stared down at Champ, his face hopeful yet terrified, it felt like her entire world was imploding and exploding simultaneously. There was a time she believed they had a future, that they would get married, she’d dreamt of this exact moment, but now that it was happening she felt herself hesitating.  
  
She was replaying their entire relationship in her mind. He was persistent and annoying until she agreed to go out with him. Admittedly, she was pleasantly surprised at how charming and attentive he was at the beginning, but a lot had changed somewhere along the way. For quite some time he’s been acting jealous, accusatory and belittling. More recently she’s been concerned about him controlling his temper, and on top of all that, he barely took any interest unless he was getting something out of it. Which brought her thoughts to Nicole, she wanted Waverly to go to dinner just to learn more about her senior thesis project. She thought about how his touch didn’t evoke even close to the same feeling of comfort Nicole’s hand on her shoulder had earlier that day.  
  
“Waverly?” Champ’s voice broke through the fog in her mind. “Are you going to answer?” He stood up and moved closer to her.  
  
She tried to speak but couldn’t form any words. She had no idea what she wanted to say.  
  
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Champ said louder. “People are staring, come on.”  
  
She looked up into his eyes, expecting to see love and anticipation, but instead they were filled with anger.  
  
“Ye…” She heard herself saying yes, though she wanted to say no. She had no idea why she couldn’t bring herself to say it, and was beyond relieved when someone came busting through the doors, interrupting her mid word.  
  
“I object!” Tucker ran in screaming, gaining everyone’s attention. “Waverly, you can’t marry him!”  
  
“No one asked you Gardner!” Champ started to walk toward Tucker and immediately his hands were balled into fists.  
  
Waverly watched the two engage in a back and forth, and even though she couldn’t make out what was being said between them, she could tell it was an argument. Much like that day in Sub Haven, they quickly grew louder. She could hear Tucker shouting.  
  
“She deserves to know the truth, Hardy!” Tucker was right in Champ’s face.  
  
Before she knew what was happening her feet were carrying her across the room. She placed herself between them, pushing Champ back.  
  
“What exactly do I deserve to know?” She asked Tucker as she turned to face him.  
  
“Nothing!” Champ cut in. “He’s trying to get between us!”  
  
“Champ, let Tucker speak.” She didn’t even bother to turn around and look at him.  
  
Tucker shifted nervously on his feet, “Champ has been cheating on you, and I have proof.”  
  
“What?” Waverly’s mouth fell open in disbelief. She spun to face Champ, “Is this true?”  
  
“Of course not.” Champ never took his eyes off Tucker.  
  
“What kind of proof?” She looked back over her shoulder.  
  
Tucker handed her an envelope without saying anything. As she started opening it Champ tried to grab it from her hands, but she was able to turn out of his reach. It contained photographs of Champ kissing Stephanie Jones, the first one from Stephanie’s wedding day several months back spanning to more recently in the woods on their annual camping trip. Waverly couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Champ, who was now staring at his feet, let out a heavy sigh.  
  
“What the hell is this?” She placed a picture in his line of sight. “You just stood here and lied to me!”  
  
She threw all the pictures on the floor and tried her best to hold back the tears threatening to fall. Champ was standing completely still, eyes fixed on the photos now scattered at his feet. She was waiting for him to say something, anything, when she felt a hand on her upper arm, and shuddered realizing it had to be Tucker’s. She’d completely forgotten he was there.  
  
“Waverly.” He said quietly in her ear, “Let me take you home, you’re obviously upset.” Though there was no hint of concern in his voice.  
  
Champ’s head finally snapped up when he heard that. He lunged at Tucker knocking Waverly to the ground. They both scrambled to help her up but she shoved them away running to the only place she knew they couldn’t follow her, grabbing her purse on the way. Once in the restroom she tried to call Chrissy but she didn’t answer, so she called Wynonna instead.  
  
“Babygirl! Tell that clown I’m stuck doing what he didn’t finish.” She practically yelled into the phone.  
  
“Wynonna! I need you to come get me, please?” She couldn’t hold back the tears any longer.  
  
“What happened? Where are you?”  
  
Waverly gave her a quick and tearful recap of the events before begging her to come pick her up.  
  
“Waves, I can’t leave work and Willa can’t either. I’m sorry.” Waverly could hear tapping as if Wynonna was typing on her phone. “Hang tight, I’m sending help, I promise. I gotta go.” With that Wynonna hung up the phone.  
  
...  
  
  
Waverly didn’t know how much time had passed when she heard the door to the restroom open. She looked up and saw that a familiar pair of pumas had appeared outside the stall she was hiding in.  
  
“Waves?” Nicole quietly tapped on the stall door. “It’s Nicole, Wynonna called me.”  
  
“Hey.” She said it so quietly she barely heard herself. She cleared her throat and asked more boldly. “Are Champ and Tucker still here?”  
  
“Unfortunately.” Nicole sounded agitated at the mention of their names. “They’re kind of causing a scene in the restaurant, similar to the one they caused at Shorty’s.”  
  
“I don’t think I can walk out there and face everyone.” Waverly sniffled. “I’m not sure what he’ll do, he’s been so aggressive lately.” She opened the stall door to see Nicole giving her a sympathetic smile.  
  
“Luckily, I’ve got you covered. I brought backup to escort us out.” She held up her arm for Waverly to take. “Whenever you’re ready, of course.”  
  
Waverly wrapped her hand around Nicole’s bicep and prepared herself to face everyone. “Thank you for coming to get me.”  
  
“Of course, any time.” Nicole stopped at the door before opening it. “Ready?”  
  
“Just one question.” Waverly gave her a small smile, “Does this count as my favor?”  
  
Nicole placed her hand on her chin as if deep in thought. “Any request to help a beautiful damsel in distress will always be obliged. Also, technically Wynonna called me, so no.”  
  
When they exited the bathroom Waverly saw the same man she’d seen that morning. She briefly thought this was the ‘backup’ Nicole was talking about. She wasn’t sure he’d be able to take on Tucker by himself, never mind Champ, or both of them. When he spotted them he tapped a tall muscular guy on the shoulder and quite energetically made his way over.  
  
“Hi! I’m Jeremy, this is my boyfriend Leo, but I call him Watts because he’s so electrifying.” He threw his hands up and spread his fingers out animatedly.  
  
Leo, or Watts, rolled his eyes. “Don’t let him fool you, he calls me Watts because I’m an electrician.” He extended his hand out to her.  
  
“Well it’s nice to meet you both.”  
  
“I hate to be a downer, but we should probably get out of here before those two notice us.” Nicole interjected.  
  
They quickly made their exit, Leo doing his best to block them from Champ and Tucker’s view. Waverly breathed a sigh of relief when she made it outside, however she heard the door slam a second time behind them.  
  
“You!” Champ shouted.  
  
Waverly froze in her tracks, but felt a tug urging her to keep going. She looked up to see Nicole had grabbed her hand. When they made it to the truck, Nicole opened the passenger door and helped her in. She ran around to the driver’s side, started up the truck and pulled out of the parking lot.  
  
“What about Jeremy and Leo?” Waverly asked, craning her neck to see if anything was happening, but only saw Champ standing alone in the parking lot.  
  
“They drove themselves.” She placed her hand on Waverly’s leg. “It’s gonna be okay.”  
  
Waverly looked down at her hand, again stunned by the warmth and comfort she felt. Nicole pulled her hand away quickly, clearing her throat before asking for directions. The ride was mostly silent. Waverly was thinking about what happened at the restaurant. How did she not know about Champ cheating, how did Tucker get all those photos without anyone noticing him, what else did he have photos of. That thought made her sick, it hadn’t even occurred to her before now. She tried her best to push that thought aside, she felt she’d been upset enough already for one night.  
  
They pulled up to her apartment and before she could say anything Nicole was out of the truck. Her door opened and a hand appeared to help her down. They walked to the entrance of her building and stood in awkward silence momentarily.  
  
“Are you sure you’re going to be alright?” Nicole tilted her head to the side, a genuine look of concern on her face.  
  
“I’ll be okay.” Waverly looked down at her feet trying to hold back tears. “Thank you again for coming to get me.” Feeling more composed, she looked back up only to be met with the most mesmerizing eyes she’d ever seen.  
  
“You’re welcome.” Nicole pulled a card out of her shirt pocket. “Here’s my number, you know, in case you need to be rescued from another bathroom.” She smiled when Waverly laughed a little at that. “I’ll, uh, see you around.”  
  
Waverly watched her walk back to the truck and drive away. She entered the apartment hoping Chrissy would be home, but it was empty. There was a note on the refrigerator from Chrissy saying she’d be spending the night at her dad’s place. Waverly stood in the dark kitchen trying to decide between wine and tea, ultimately deciding on the tea. She curled up on the couch with some documentary playing and eventually drifted off to sleep.  
  
…  
  
  
Willa had agreed to give Waverly a few days off. Today was her first shift back since that night. She wasn’t sure if she was more concerned with facing Champ or Tucker. She knew Champ would be angry, in a way that actually felt safer, more predictable than how Tucker may act when he sees her next.  
  
She did her best to focus on getting ready for the day. When she walked into the kitchen there was a coffee waiting for her with a note from Chrissy. ‘Had to sneak out early this morning. Save your lunch time for me!’. Chrissy had been really supportive and caring these past few days, and once again Waverly was thankful to have such a great friend. Now she didn’t have to worry about how to hide during her lunch break.  
  
She walked into Clootie’s about twenty minutes before her shift and spotted Robert and Doc near the door to the back room. As she approached she could hear they were having a lively discussion about possibly brewing beer in the near future. Waverly stood unnoticed until she cleared her throat.  
  
“Miss Waverly, my apologies, I did not see you standing there.” Doc removed his hat and placed it over his chest.  
  
“Yeah, Waverly, sorry. How are you holding up?” Robert asked.  
  
“As best as I can, thanks.” She gave them a smile, but it wasn’t real. Deep down she didn’t really know how she felt. “I actually had a favor to ask.”  
  
“Well I hope you can help her out Doc.” Robert said. “I wish I could, but I can’t be late with this next shipment.” He walked up and gave her a hug, “Hang in there kid.”  
  
She turned to Doc who was placing his hat back on his head. “Well, I do believe I owe you a favor.” He smiled.  
  
She asked Doc to escort her to the time clock, just in case Tucker or Champ would also be clocking in for their shift. He agreed and walked with her into the back room. Sure enough Champ was standing by the time clock, clearly waiting for her. Doc told her to stay back while he walked up and said something to him. She wasn’t sure what, but it got rid of him, and that’s all she really cared about. She gathered her belongings and clocked in for her shift. They walked to her register and Doc made sure she got settled in before heading off.


	6. Black Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Waverly deals with the aftermath of her break up with Champ.

Waverly stood at her register listening to the wind and thunder outside. The lanes now lay quiet, unlike earlier. Mostly people grabbing last minute essentials in case there was a power outage due to the storm. She had no idea how long she’d been staring in the direction of the produce department, hoping to catch another glimpse of the tall red head. Nicole had been rushing around picking up after customers earlier, but Waverly hadn’t seen any movement for quite some time. She wondered if her shift had already ended, when the sound of someone speaking interrupted her thoughts.  
  
“See something you like over there?” There was a venomous tone behind Champ’s question, and when she looked up at him, his face was twisted into a vindictive sneer.  
  
“What do you want Champ?” She asked, trying to keep her tone as flat as possible.  
  
“I want you to forgive me, and stop staring at that…” He threw his items down on the belt and looked at Waverly, pausing to consider his next word. “Woman.” He finally finished.  
  
“Well, I don’t forgive you, and not that it’s any of your business, but I wasn’t staring at anyone.” She flicked off the light above her register. “And this lane is closed.”  
  
He grabbed his items and began following her, she didn’t even know where she was walking to, she just wanted away from him.  
  
“Babe, come on. Can we at least talk about this?” The other cashiers turned and stared when they heard his incessant whining. “You know we’re meant to be, I just, I made a mistake, I’m sorry.”  
  
She made a quick turn down the candy aisle and tried to walk even faster. Unfortunately she could still hear Champ behind her begging for forgiveness and repeating over again that it had been a mistake. When she reached the end of the aisle she spun quickly on her heel and pointed her finger out, poking Champ in the center of his chest.  
  
“A mistake? You made a mistake?” She glared at him, and watched his expression change from determined to surprised. “Once may be a mistake, but even that is pushing it. There were like twenty photos, that is not a mistake, Champ!”  
  
He opened and closed his mouth several times, seemingly at a loss for words. Before either of them could say any more, Waverly felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned around to see an older woman standing behind her. She recognized her from the bakery.  
  
“I’m sorry if we disturbed you.” Waverly couldn’t determine the expression on the woman’s face.  
  
“You didn’t bother me, just come with me for a minute.”  
  
Waverly followed the woman behind the counter and around the corner past the ovens. There was a narrow work area with some tables, and some boxes piled in the corner.   
  
“Are you alright?” She gestured to the boxes and Waverly sat down, leaning back against the wall.  
  
“I will be, thank you.” Waverly looked up at the woman, whose name tag read Dee.  
  
“Well, you can hide back here whenever you’d like, and I’ll make sure he doesn’t follow.” She smiled before heading back around the corner, leaving Waverly alone.  
  
…  
  
After confirming Champ had moved on, Waverly walked back to her register. Willa was leaning against the belt with her arms crossed and an irritated look on her face. Waverly felt bad for disappearing, but she didn’t know how else to get away from Champ at the time.  
  
“Are you alright?” Willa asked, with a lack of actual concern in her voice.  
  
“Willa, I’m sorry. Champ came over here and was starting trouble, I just needed to get away from him.”  
  
“I see. I’m sorry.” Willa said, relaxing her stance a little. “I’ll have Wynona take care of him. That’s not why I came over though.”  
  
“Oh, is something wrong?”  
  
“I was just coming around to remind everyone to verify nothing is inside containers, or on the bottom of the cart. We’ve had an abundance of unaccounted for items recently.”  
  
She could tell there was more Willa wasn’t saying, she was about to probe her sister for more information when Willa’s phone began ringing. Waverly could hear a deep voice on the other end of the line, but couldn’t make out who it belonged to, she just watched Willa nod with understanding, thank the person and hang up.  
  
“That was Nedley, they’re declaring a state of emergency due to high winds and flash flooding. He wants us to shelter in place here for the night until the storm dies down.” Willa placed her hand on Waverly’s shoulder before continuing. “Don’t worry, Wynona and I will be here, Champ won’t be anywhere near you. Go ahead and balance your cash drawer, we’re closing the store.”  
  
She watched Willa walk away, talking on her walkie talkie as she went. Staying the night in the store was the last thing she wanted to do, especially after her argument with Champ earlier. She thought about where she could hide out away from him while she balanced her cash drawer, but couldn’t think of anywhere he wouldn’t find her. As if she needed any more problems that night, the last person she’d want to be locked in a building with was standing outside the cash office when she walked out.  
  
“Being stuck here for the night sucks, but being stuck here with you makes it all worth it.” Tucker said cooly as he pushed himself off the wall he’d been leaning against.  
  
“Not today Tucker, I’m not in the mood.” She said, not even turning around to acknowledge him.  
  
She was speed walking in the direction Willa had gone earlier, hoping to run into one of her sisters. The feeling of someone being right on her heals was making her panic, but she didn’t want to turn around and give him any more reason to try and talk to her. Though it didn’t keep him from doing so anyway.  
  
“So, where are we spending the night?”  
  
She wasn’t sure if the question itself, or the suggestive tone it was asked in, was worse. At this point she would have preferred Champ bothering her. She kept walking the same direction, and responded without turning around.  
  
“We’re not spending the night anywhere. You can spend it wherever you like, away from me.” She wasn’t normally this aggressive with Tucker, but she’d had enough of him and Champ the last few days.  
  
“You’re staying with me, I need to keep Hardy away from you.” Tucker grabbed her arm and spun her around to face him.  
  
“Hey Wynonna!” She said, while pretending to look over his shoulder. He immediately loosened his grip and she broke free. She quickly made her way to the bathrooms at the front of the store, but she could hear his footsteps behind her.  
  
…  
  
Waverly stared at her phone trying to decide if she should send the message she’d typed out. Once again she found herself holed up in a bathroom stall to avoid Tucker. She took a deep breath before deciding to hit send.  
  
Waverly: Remember that time you gave me your number, in case I ever needed rescuing from a bathroom again?  
  
She stared at the screen and wished she could take the message back, reading it now she saw how corny it sounded. But her heart jumped into her throat when she saw ‘Read’ pop up underneath, and the three dots appear shortly after.  
  
Nicole: I rescue so many women from bathrooms.  
Nicole: Which damsel in distress might this be?  
  
Waverly’s laugh echoed through the empty bathroom as she read Nicole’s response. Equally nerdy, yet charming. She wished Nicole was actually at the store so she could rescue her from this less than ideal hiding spot. Unsure how to express that through text, she sat for a minute pondering what she could say. Deciding to continue the friendly banter, she finally settled on something she hoped wouldn’t be too much.  
  
Waverly: Lady Weavaly desires rescuing from the mystical caves of Clootie’s.  
  
She could feel her face getting hot and the blood rushing to her cheeks, she wasn’t sure if it was more from embarrassment or nerves. Then she shook her head at the thought of how awkward one person has to be to embarrass themselves with their own actions. The notification of an incoming text chimed and she pondered if she really wanted to know the response she’d gotten.  
  
Nicole: Might I expect danger on this journey?  
  
Waverly rolled her eyes at how ridiculous this conversation was. She was thankful her phone battery was almost full, so if nothing else, she could entertain herself by texting Nicole.   
  
Waverly: You’ll have to face the unrestful winds and the rushing waters, only to discover the cave is being guarded by a horrible beast.  
  
She could only assume Tucker was still outside the bathroom. He seemed determined that they’d be spending the night together somewhere in the store. Just the thought of it was too much for Waverly. She knew she couldn’t hang out in the bathroom all night, but she needed to figure out where to go, away from Champ and Tucker.  
  
Nicole: The horrible beast wouldn’t happen to be Tucker, would it?  
  
Waverly: Yes, that’s the horrible beast. How did you know?  
  
Nicole: I can see him pouting outside the women’s bathroom.  
  
Waverly heard footsteps enter the bathroom as she read Nicole’s last text. She pulled her feet up off the floor and perched on the toilet trying to remain as still as possible. She could hear the stall doors being opened one by one with unnecessary force.  
  
“Come one Waverly, I know you’re in here, you might as well just come hang out with me for the night.” Tucker was trying to hide the irritation in his voice.   
  
Waverly sat there frozen to the spot as she heard the stall doors being opened, he was getting closer to the one she was hiding in. She considered making a run for it, but she wasn’t sure how far down he was or if she could make it. Weighing her options she decided running was her best chance. Just as she placed one foot on the ground she heard someone else run into the bathroom.  
  
“What do you think you’re doing?” Nicole said loudly, her anger evident.  
  
“Well, I, uh.” Tucker stuttered. “I was asked to check the bathrooms.”  
  
“Well, I think they’re checked.” A voice Waverly didn’t recognize chimed in.  
  
There was a minute of silence when she finally heard Tucker mutter something under his breath. She opened the stall door and saw Nicole standing in the middle of the bathroom with another woman she didn’t know. Waverly walked slowly over to them, still in shock that Tucker would follow her in here.  
  
“Waves, you ok?” Nicole placed her hand on Waverly’s arm before turning to the other woman. “Deanna, can you make sure he’s gone?”  
  
Deanna gave Nicole a look Waverly couldn’t quite figure out, but walked out of the bathroom anyway.  
  
“Thank you, for coming to get me.” Waverly finally said. “I thought you had left for the day already.”  
  
“Did he hurt you?” Nicole asked, looking Waverly over. “And you’re welcome.”  
  
Waverly shook her head. “No, he didn’t hurt me.”  
  
“Deanna and I were just going to clean up produce, if you want to come.”  
  
Waverly nodded and followed Nicole out of the bathroom. A part of her felt ashamed that she allowed herself to be intimidated by Tucker in the first place, but she wasn’t expecting him to grab her arm like that. In all of the years she’d known him, and all of the times he made passes at her, he had never laid a finger on her. To say this was the worst day she’d had since starting her job, would be an understatement.  
  
…  
  
The three of them stood in the produce cooler in awe. Carts and boxes were strewn all over the place. No rhyme or reason to how the boxes had been stacked on the carts, or any indication of what the other associates had been trying to accomplish. Nicole started scanning the boxes to print inventory labels and directed Deanna and Waverly to put them on the steel shelves. Waverly was trying her best to not listen to the flirtatious conversation between the other two women, though most of the flirting was coming from Deanna. When she heard her ask Nicole out on a date she almost dropped the crate of broccoli she’d been hoisting onto the shelf, but took note that Nicole was avoiding answering the question. It wasn’t until Deanna excused herself from the cooler that Waverly could breathe.  
  
“No date with Deanna?” Waverly joked.  
  
“She’s not really my type.” Nicole shrugged.  
  
“Well what is your type?” Waverly asked flirtatiously, even though she tried to make it sound like an innocent question.  
  
Nicole was about to reply when the power cut out and they were plunged into complete darkness.  
  
“Shit.” She heard Nicole mutter. “Waves, you ok? Of course Deanna closed the cooler door.”  
  
Waverly heard the clicking of a button from near the cooler door and started making her way over there, her hands outstretched in front of her. She stopped when she hit something, or someone.  
  
“So, bad news is, the door works on power, and we’re trapped.” Nicole half heartedly laughed. “Good news is, we’re trapped together.”  
  
“So we just have to wait until the power comes back on?” Waverly gripped Nicole’s shirt. Being stuck in a cold, dark cooler was the last thing she needed. Even if it was with Nicole.  
  
“Looks like it.” A light flashed on and Nicole’s face appeared in the brightness. “At least I have some battery left on my phone.”  
  
Waverly released her grip and blushed, glad Nicole couldn’t see her in the dark. She thought she’d been gripping the back of Nicole’s shirt, but it was in fact the front. Nicole took some of the more sturdy boxes down and made a seat of them. Neither of them knew how long they would be stuck in there. They sat next to each other in silence for some time before Nicole finally spoke.  
  
“So, are you really ok?” She inched a little closer to Waverly. “Or does Tucker bother you often?”  
  
Waverly could feel the heat radiating from Nicole, it was nice, considering they were stuck in a cooler. But it was also distracting, and it took her longer than normal to process Nicole’s question.  
  
“Tucker has been like this since I can remember, but tonight he went too far.” Waverly wasn’t sure if she should tell Nicole about Tucker grabbing her, but she wanted to tell someone. “He grabbed my arm pretty aggressively, and after my fight with Champ earlier, I just wasn’t prepared for something like that.”  
  
“I’m sorry you’ve had a rough day, I’m here if you need to talk about anything.”  
  
“He was trying to convince me that him cheating on me was a mistake.” Waverly used bunny ears around the word mistake, but realized after that Nicole couldn’t see her. “He was also trying to convince me to take him back, so I hid out in the bakery until he left.”  
  
Waverly was now shivering, and she felt Nicole lean closer and put her arm around her shoulders. She could feel Nicole’s steady breathing next to her and it helped her relax. Though she didn’t know Nicole very well, Waverly felt that her concern was sincere. She wasn’t used to anyone truly caring about her feelings, and it made her want to tell Nicole her whole life story. More than that, she wanted to know everything she could about the other woman, something about her intrigued Waverly in a way no one had before.  
  
Even though the power was out, the cold remained trapped in the closed room with them. They sat next to each other in silence, huddled for warmth. Waverly considered breaking the silence just in time for the cooler door to start rolling up slowly, and a grinning Wynonna on the other side.


	7. Cheesecake Cures All

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Waverly has an unexpected confrontation.

It had been a few weeks since the proposal and Champ was still trying to talk to Waverly every time he saw her. It seemed today he was trying harder than usual, but Wynonna was on top of it. Willa gave her permission to stand at the end of Waverly’s register and bag to keep away Champ and Tucker, though Waverly had only seen Tucker in passing and he hadn’t attempted to speak to her since the storm.  
  
“Wy, you have to actually bag the items.” Waverly reminded her for what felt like the hundredth time as she watched the stuff gather at the end of her register.  
  
“Fine.” She rolled her eyes. “What is it? Eight items per bag?”  
  
“It’s six.” Waverly answered without looking at her.  
  
Wynonna held up a box. “Six donuts, would that count as individual items, or one item?” She was trying desperately to get Waverly to show any kind of emotion. “Though, I think I’d just call these bad boys a meal.”  
  
“Really Wynonna?” Waverly finally looked up at her. “You need to lay off the sugar.” Despite trying to be serious, she smiled at her sister.  
  
“You need to lay off the sugar.” Wynonna mimicked her voice. She knew it was a bad impression, but she got the reaction she wanted.  
  
“I do not sound like that!” Waverly laughed.  
  
“You kind of do though.” The customer they’d both forgotten about startled them.  
  
“I resent that.” Waverly retorted.  
  
Wynonna held her hand up and gave the guy a high five while Waverly rolled her eyes at them. Most of the morning went about the same, Wynonna tried to make Waverly laugh, and succeeded about half the time.  
  
“So.” Wynonna paused, waiting for the customer to walk out of ear shot. “What’s going on with you and red?” She leaned over the end of the register belt, resting on her elbows.  
  
“I have no idea what you mean.” Waverly felt her cheeks getting hot, and she could feel Wynonna staring at her.  
  
“Well, you looked awfully cozy when I opened the produce cooler the other night.”  
  
Waverly turned to Wynonna, ready to tell her off when she saw Willa walking up to them.  
  
“Waverly, I hope you don’t mind, but I have to steal Wynonna for something important.” Her two older sisters shared a knowing look.  
  
“What was that look for?” Waverly asked.  
  
“What look?” They both replied, trying to play it off.  
  
“Real smooth guys. You know I’m going to figure out what you’re both up to sooner or later. You’re terrible liars.” She squinted her eyes at them skeptically.  
  
Obviously trying to change the subject, Willa looked at her watch, “Why don’t you take your lunch once these customers are all set. By then I can return Wynonna to you.”  
  
Waverly agreed, albeit begrudgingly. She watched her sisters walk off toward the front end office, she knew something was going on, she just wasn’t sure if it was something she should be worried about or not. She shut off the light indicating her register was no longer open, finished helping anyone already in her lane and headed to lunch.  
  
…  
  
  
Waverly was sitting in the back corner of Sub Haven listening to music. She didn’t see the figure approaching her at full speed, so the sound of something hitting the table startled her, and she looked down to see a familiar envelope.  
  
“You messed with the wrong person, Earp.” Stephanie Jones spit out her name like a bad taste in her mouth.  
  
Waverly looked up from the table and took her ear buds out. “Stephanie, can I help you?”  
  
Stephanie glared down at her with a twisted angry look. “I said, you messed with the wrong person.” She pointed to the envelope on the table.  
  
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Waverly stated as nonchalantly as possible.  
  
“You know exactly what I’m talking about.” Stephanie sat down across from her clasping her hands together and leaning forward on the table. “It’s so sad that your relationship is in the toilet because Champ is a cheating asshole, but how dare you meddle in my marriage by sending these pictures to my husband.”  
  
Waverly felt her brow furrow with both confusion and irritation. “Well, Stephanie, it seems like you skipped over doing your homework. I didn’t have possession of those photos, so it’s not possible that I sent them.” Waverly got up and stormed out of Sub Haven, but not before whipping around to add, “By the way, Champ’s not the ONLY cheating asshole.”  
  
She heard Stephanie yell from behind her, “DON’T YOU WALK AWAY FROM ME WAVERLY EARP!” She ignored her and quickly started making her way toward the bakery. Dee, the cake decorator was typically the only one there and told her she could hide out whenever she wanted. She usually went through produce, and would stop and say hello to Nicole, but today she skipped it and cut down one of the freezer aisles instead. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Champ standing there staring at the frozen meals.  
  
“Waverly!” He shouted as he ran up to her. “I’m so sorry, please you have to forgive me.” He got closer and tried to pull her into a hug.  
  
“I don’t have to do anything!” She pushed him back.  
  
“But, babe.” He reached out again but stopped midway. “You know you’ll never find someone else.”  
  
Her mouth dropped open, she didn’t even know how to respond to that. Part of her thought he was right. Aside from Champ she’d only had one other boyfriend, though one week in seventh grade didn’t really count in her opinion. He must have thought he found his way back in because he continued speaking when she couldn’t.  
  
“Not many guys around here are lining up to date a girl who wants to study more than put out.” He took a step closer. “Plus they all know about your mother and father.”  
  
“How dare you bring them up!” Waverly shoved him back again. She spun around only to be met with Stephanie who must have followed her over here. “And you!” Her jaw now clenched in anger. “Why don’t you go talk to Tucker about those photos.”  
  
At this point she was stuck between her ex boyfriend and the woman he cheated on her with. To say that today wasn’t going her way was an understatement. However Champ surprised them both when he turned his attention to Stephanie and admitted her was the one who sent the pictures.  
  
“What?” Both Stephanie and Waverly asked at the same time.  
  
He looked down at the floor and put his hands in his pockets. “I sent them. I wanted to ruin your marriage the way Tucker ruined my relationship.” He looked back up to Waverly. “I knew Tucker was going to give you the pictures, that’s why I proposed. I was hoping if we were engaged you wouldn’t leave me when you found out.”  
  
“You said you’d been planning that for a while.” She glared at him. “So that was another lie?”  
  
“Yeah, but babe…”  
  
“Don’t babe me!” She cut him off. “Has any of our relationship meant anything to you at all?”  
  
“Well, I mean you’re the hottest chick I’ve ever seen, and look at me.” He gestured up and down his own body. “We belong together, we’re hot babe. No one else this good looking is going to want you.” Champ wiped the grin off his face and gave her an emotionless look. “You know you’re not truly worthy of love, and you’ll never do better than me.”  
  
Stephanie gasped in surprise when Champ said that, reminding Waverly she was standing there.  
  
“Stephanie, I think you’ve found who you need to talk to about those pictures.”  
  
She brushed past Champ in the direction she was originally heading. She wanted to get out of there before the tears fell again. He didn’t deserve the satisfaction of knowing she was affected by him. She felt foolish for thinking he’d ever wanted her for anything more than how she looked. Wynonna and Willa tried to warn her he was shallow and controlling but she didn’t listen. She ran into the bakery department and ducked around the corner as quick as possible unaware that Nicole had been listening to the interaction from the next aisle over.  
  
…  
  
  
Waverly was sitting in the corner by the sink perched up on some boxes with her back against the wall hugging her knees to her chest. She was contemplating leaving for the day. If Champ cheating on her hadn’t already ended their relationship, him lying about why he proposed certainly would have. Tucker interrupting stopped her from saying yes, part of her felt indebted to him, but a bigger part only felt violated by him stalking them. Again she pushed away the thoughts of what other pictures Tucker could have taken without anyone’s knowledge.  
  
She heard hushed voices from around the corner but couldn’t make out what they were saying. Assuming it was customers she put her music on to drown them out, and put her head down on her knees. About a minute later she felt a tap on her shoulder, she looked up to see Nicole smiling sympathetically at her, carrying two individual slices of cheesecake.   
  
“Cheesecake?” She held one out to Waverly, who only stared back at her. “Sorry, I watch the Golden Girls a lot, they’ve taught me cheesecake cures all.” She shifted on her feet nervously.  
  
Waverly wiped her eyes. “I love that show.” She smiled as she grabbed the package out of Nicole’s hand. “Thank you, this is actually really thoughtful.”  
  
Nicole gestured toward the boxes with her fork and Waverly shifted to make room. Once Nicole was situated Waverly stretched her legs out over Nicole’s lap and settled in. They started eating and Waverly was enjoying how comfortable the silence between them actually was. She didn’t feel the need to fill the space between them with words, however she felt Nicole’s eyes on her and she could tell she wanted to say something.   
  
“Yes?” Waverly finally asked, looking up to meet the deep pools of Nicole’s brown eyes.   
  
“I’m sorry Champ said all those things to you.” She looked away and stared straight forward. “I was in the next aisle over.”  
  
“Oh.” It was all Waverly could manage to say.  
  
“He’s wrong you know, about everything. Don’t listen to him.” Nicole reassured her.  
  
“I wish I could believe that, but part of me feels like he might be right.” She could feel tears start to well up again, she was really tired of feeling emotionally drained. “Like I may not be worthy of love.”  
  
Nicole put her cheesecake down and turned to face Waverly. “You, Waverly Earp, are so worthy of love. You are beyond worthy of a love without possession, jealousy or abuse of any kind.”  
  
“You have no idea how much hearing that means to me.” She smiled at Nicole. “Thank you.”  
  
“Anytime, let me know if you need reminding.” Nicole winked before looking at her watch. “I really wish I didn’t have to go, but I’m only on my fifteen minute break."  
  
Waverly swung her legs off Nicole’s lap so she could get back to work. Nicole stood up and started walking out of the department, and before Waverly knew what was happening she was on her feet and chasing her down. She caught up to her right by the walk-in ovens and tapped her on the shoulder. The second Nicole spun around Waverly launched herself forward and threw her arms around Nicole’s waist. Nicole pulled Waverly into a hug and they stood like that for several minutes before Waverly finally let go, though she felt like she never wanted to.  
  
…  
  
  
When Waverly got home that evening Chrissy was waiting for her with a bottle of wine and snacks. She patted the seat on the couch next to her and Waverly sat down, leaning her head against her best friends shoulder. She recounted everything that happened with Stephanie, Champ and herself.  
  
“Please tell me that man-child is officially done?” Chrissy said.  
  
Waverly let out a real laugh for the first time in weeks. “Yeah, completely.”  
  
“I can’t believe he had the audacity to say any of those things to you. You know they’re not true right?” Chrissy asked.  
  
“Yeah, I do know that.” A smile spread across Waverly’s face at the memory of her brief time spent with Nicole.  
  
“What’s that smile all about?” Chrissy nudged her shoulder into Waverly’s and stared at her expectantly.  
  
She considered telling Chrissy about Nicole going out of her way to make her feel better, but she ultimately decided she wanted to keep that memory for herself, at least for the time being.  
  
“I’m just finally starting to feel better.”  
  
Chrissy pulled Waverly into a hug and squeezed her tight before pulling away. “Ready for wine?” She picked up the bottle and shook it a little.  
  
They spent the remainder of the night watching classic horror movies. Willa and Wynonna joined them once they were out of work. Wynonna immediately poured some shots of Nostrumdamus and toasted to the official end of ‘The Chump’. Waverly was feeling relaxed and tipsy when she finally settled into bed. The words Nicole said to her had been replaying in her head ever since. She picked up her phone and opened her messages.  
  
W: Thank you again for today. Cheesecake truly does cure all. :D  
  
She set her alarm and put her phone down not expecting a response, but was surprised when her phone chimed a minute later.  
  
N: I only spoke the truth. And, yes, the golden girls really knew how to fix their problems. ;)


	8. Sunflowers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Waverly devises a plan to make up for her awkwardness.

Waverly and Nicole had been trying to make plans to go to dinner so Waverly could tell her about the history of the Pine Barrens. Between work and classes, it was seeming impossible. In fact she hadn’t seen Nicole in person since that day in the bakery, and if she was being honest with herself, she missed her.  
  
While walking into Clootie’s she pulled up one of the pictures Nicole had sent her from the middle of the woods. She had the widest smile Waverly had ever seen, and behind her were several deer. Waverly heard the sound of the second set of automatic doors and decided to finally look up, only to be greeted with a huge bucket of sunflowers. She dropped her phone and it landed screen up so Nicole’s face was now staring up from the floor. Feeling slightly panicked she opted to give her attention to the bucket of flowers.  
  
“I got you these!” Nicole said, winking.  
  
“Flowers I can’t take home?” She questioned sarcastically. “How did you know they’re my favorite?”  
  
Nicole tilted her head to the side. “Sunflowers? Or flowers you can’t take home?” She grinned.  
  
“Sunflowers, though they’re more appealing if they’ve been stolen from some unsuspecting victims yard.” Waverly joked, loving the sound of Nicole’s laughter that followed.  
  
An awkward silence fell over them and Waverly nervously glanced down at her phone still on the ground. She wanted to reach down and get it, but also didn’t want to draw attention to it, however it was too late.  
  
“Looks like you dropped your phone.” Nicole bent down to retrieve it, looking at the screen she blushed a little as she stood back up.  
  
“The deer in the picture are so cute.” Waverly blurted out, almost too quickly. She could feel the warmth in her cheeks as she started blushing.  
  
Nicole shot her a knowing look and opened her mouth to speak before someone elbowed her in the side.  
  
“Damn Haught-Stuff, I think you broke my sister.” Wynonna waved her hand in front of Waverly’s face. “You ok there Waves?”  
  
Waverly swatted her sisters hand away before answering her. “I’m fine Wynonna. I need to punch in for work.” She took her phone from Nicole’s outstretched hand. “I’ll see you later.”  
  
As she practically ran away from that horribly awkward situation she could hear Wynonna ask Nicole what had just happened. Part of her wanted to stop and listen to Nicole’s answer but embarrassment won over and she continued making her way to the back room. She opened her locker and put on her vest before grabbing her name tag and slamming her locker shut harder than she’d meant to. When she spun around to clock in she almost walked right in to Tucker.  
  
“Waverly, you seem upset.” He leaned against the wall next to the time clock. “You want to talk about it?”  
  
“No thanks.” She quickly clocked in and prayed he would leave her be. “I gotta go.”  
  
“Well I’m here if you change your mind.” He smiled, and even though it was meant to be genuine it still gave her the creeps.  
  
She walked as quickly as possible to the safety of the front end where she found Willa waiting for her by her usual register.  
  
“Waverly, you’re a minute late.” Willa joked as she stared at her watch.  
  
Waverly rolled her eyes at her oldest sister. “Tucker held me up at the time clock, sorry.”  
  
“Are you ok?” When Waverly nodded Willa changed the subject. “Are you planning to come to the homestead for game night?”  
  
Waverly scrunched her face in thought. “I don’t know. The numbers will be uneven now that I’m single.”  
  
“Well, maybe you can invite Tucker.” Willa teased. “Just kidding. How about Chrissy?”  
  
“Maybe. I’ll ask her and let you know.” She smiled.  
  
The Earp sisters had a long standing game night once a month, at some point Robert started joining them, then Champ. Eventually Wynonna would bring whoever she was seeing at the time, evening out the numbers. Most of the time the night would end in Champ being drunk and mad because Robert outsmarted him in a game somehow. Waverly thought that was actually Robert’s favorite game. She sent Chrissy a quick text to ask about game night before getting her register ready to open.  
  
…  
  
  
When she got home after her shift she noticed boxes piled up by the door and could hear noise coming from Chrissy’s room. She poked her head through the door and saw that Chrissy was emptying her closet.  
  
“You running away?” She jokingly asked her friend.  
  
Chrissy spun around with a surprised look. “I found a place!” She exclaimed. “I can move in next week.”  
  
“Oh.” Waverly wanted to be excited for her friend, but she knew she would miss having Chrissy around.  
  
“Oh, don’t pout.” Chrissy laughed. “I’m moving in like three doors down. I know it seems pointless, but I need my own space for a while.”  
  
“I can understand that.” Waverly noticed most of Chrissy’s things were already packed. “Did you just start packing today?”  
  
“I started a couple days ago, but I didn’t know I officially had the apartment until today, so I kind of got excited and kicked it into high gear.” Chrissy looked surprised at how much she’d gotten done. “How was work?”  
  
“Oh you know, aside from Tucker attempting to ‘comfort’ me, it was pretty uneventful.”  
  
“No way.” Chrissy cringed. “Oh, that’s awful.” She acted like she was holding back vomit.  
  
“Hey, did you get my text about game night?” Waverly was really hoping Chrissy could make it.  
  
“Yeah, that’s my family dinner night with Dad, I’m sorry.”  
  
“It’s ok, we’ll just play with uneven numbers.” She laughed. “Need any help packing?”  
  
Chrissy gave her a wide smile. “That would be awesome. I’ll pour the wine.”  
  
Waverly considered talking to her about some of the feelings she’d been having, how sweet Nicole had been that day in the bakery, how she missed her when she hadn’t seen her for a while after. Waverly wanted to tell her about earlier that day when Nicole pretended to get her flowers, and the phone incident that followed. She knew Chrissy would be able to tell her how to fix it, but she couldn’t bring herself to talk about it yet.  
  
By midnight they’d packed up anything Chrissy wouldn’t need for the next week, and finished two bottles of wine. She wished Chrissy goodnight and headed to bed. Once settled, she plugged her phone in and realized she had a message.  
  
N: I’m sorry about earlier today.  
  
…  
  
  
Waverly had reread the message wracking her brain to figure out why Nicole would apologize when she was the one who made things awkward. She knew she needed to fix it, but just needed to figure out how. Thinking about it all day made concentrating on her classes difficult, but she came up with a plan.   
  
Her first stop, after coffee, was the local craft store. She gathered anything that was a deer figure and brought it over to the fake Christmas trees, which they sold year round. She placed the deer on and around the trees before smiling widely at her phone and taking a selfie, winning her some odd looks from the other shoppers.  
  
The next task required some driving, and she was glad she had several hours before her shift that night. When she pulled up to the homestead it seemed no one else was there. She opened the door to the barn, and spotted what she was looking for in the corner. Since the homestead came with an expansive amount of land, her Uncle Curtis had bought them an ATV to get around. Now it’s mostly used by Wynonna when she’s drunk and wants to irritate Willa. She wasn’t surprised to see the keys had been left in the ignition, she took a pair of sheers from the tool box before starting it up and making the familiar journey. It was about a 20 minute ride to the farthest North East corner of their property, and it was the only portion of the land that her mother had ever tended to.  
  
She parked the ATV outside the partially demolished fence surrounding the once beautiful garden, and spotted the sunflowers peeking up over the tall grass that had taken over. Admittedly they weren’t as vibrant as the ones Nicole had offered her, clearly struggling against the colder temperatures at night, but they were still beautiful. She picked the five she felt looked the best and cut them down.  
  
She took a few minutes to stand in the quiet garden, surrounded by one of the only memories she did have of her mother. She told Waverly to pick any flower she wanted, and she picked sunflowers. Her mother packed them a picnic and they spent the day planting all the seeds. Shortly after that day her mother would leave them, and looking back now, she can recall a sadness on her mother’s face she hadn’t realized was there at the time. She took a few deep breaths, said goodbye to their secret garden and made her way back.  
  
…  
  
  
Parking in her usual space, she spotted Nicole’s truck a couple rows away. She decided she needed to be a little stealthy, and moved across to the other side of the lot. Entering Clootie’s on the pharmacy side was strange, but she knew she had much less of a chance running into Nicole this way. She hadn’t taken running into Wynonna into consideration, however.  
  
“You brought me flowers? Babygirl you shouldn’t have!”  
  
“You can have one, if you really want.” She held the flowers out to her sister who only shook her head no.  
  
“So, who are they for? Huh? A certain red head maybe?”  
  
“No one. I have to go, I’m going to be late.” She couldn’t believe Wynonna, of all people, had somehow noticed something going on with her. She was normally incredibly oblivious.  
  
Her attempt to walk away was pointless, Wynonna only followed her and nagged her the entire way. She opened her locker and started to try and make room for the flowers. Wynonna leaned against the wall to her right hand side looking bored. A familiar voice came from Waverly’s left, and she can only assume they hadn’t seen Wynonna standing next to her.   
  
“Waverly, you brought me flowers? Isn’t that usually the man’s job?” Tucker said slyly.  
  
Wynonna was off the wall and in Tucker’s face before Waverly could even respond. He was quickly backing away from them and apologizing. Tucker has been terrified of Wynonna ever since they were kids, though Waverly wasn’t sure what happened between them, she didn’t really care as long as he stayed away from her.  
  
“I don’t think those are going to fit.” Wynonna stated, pointing at the locker.  
  
“Yeah, I’m just trying to hide them until break.”  
  
Wynonna raised an eyebrow, then sighed dramatically. “I’ll hide them in Willa’s office, just get them there later.” She held her hand out, but Waverly wasn’t sure, and Wynonna could tell. “I promise, I’ll take care of them.”  
  
“Fine, but tell Willa I’m not telling her anything either.” She handed Wynonna the flowers, who eyed them suspiciously. “I took them from Mama’s garden earlier today. I was actually surprised to see they were still growing.”  
  
Wynonna looked at the flowers, then back to Waverly. “We should really clean that place up some day soon.”  
  
Waverly nodded in agreement and turned to say something but Wynona had taken off before she could respond.  
  
…  
  
  
Once her break rolled around Waverly knew she had to time everything perfectly. She knocked on the door to Willa’s office and slowly opened it.  
  
“Here for your mystery flowers?” Willa asked without turning around.  
  
Waverly cleared her throat, “Yes, actually.”  
  
“Come on, who are they for?” Willa spun around in her chair to face her sister.  
  
“No one, really.” Waverly felt the red tint spreading to her cheeks. “I have to go.”  
  
She grabbed the flowers and backed away out of the office. She was second guessing her plan, but she already had two of the three things she needed. Sneaking through the clothing section and down the cereal aisle she approached the bakery from the opposite side of the produce department. She grabbed two slices of cheesecake and snuck back the direction she’d come from to go pay. While in line she kept an eye out for Nicole and spotted her dragging a cart into the stock room. She grabbed two forks from Sub Haven and walked over to the swinging door to produce. Through the window in the door she could see Nicole standing at the sink.  
  
Officially setting her plan in motion she texted Nicole the picture she’d taken earlier that day and watched in anticipation for her to look at her phone. It was a couple minutes before she took her phone out of her pocket and opened the message. She watched the confused smile spread across her face and decided to make her move. She busted through the doors and presented Nicole the flowers.  
  
“I got you these!” She said loudly, successfully startling Nicole and causing her to drop her phone.  
  
“Oh! Did you steal them from an unsuspecting victims yard?” Nicole took the flowers from Waverly and started to sniff them.  
  
“Kind of, I stole them from the homestead.”  
  
“These grow at the homestead?” Nicole looked down at her phone and started to bend down to get it.  
  
Not to have her plan thrown off Waverly grabbed it before Nicole could. “Oh! Looks like you dropped your…Nicole! Were you staring at this picture of me?” She watched Nicole’s facial expression change to surprise and laughed.  
  
“Well, I… I mean, you…” Nicole stuttered a little over her words before Waverly cut her off by placing her hand on her forearm.  
  
“I spent all morning trying to figure out why you apologized for yesterday when I was obviously the one who made things awkward. So I devised this plan to make up for it.” Waverly smiled.  
  
Nicole suspiciously eyed the bag in Waverly’s hand. “And what’s that?”  
  
“Cheesecake of course!” Waverly smiled.  
  
Nicole filled a plastic bucket with water for her new flowers while Waverly opened the cheesecake. They leaned against the stainless steel desk and ate in silence for a few bites.  
  
“I apologized because you seemed really upset, and I thought it was something I had done.” Nicole shifted so she was facing Waverly.  
  
“Oh.” Waverly wasn’t sure what to say, she wasn’t used to anyone apologizing because they thought they’d upset her somehow. “Well, it definitely wasn’t you.”  
  
“I’m glad to know it wasn’t me, but I’m here if you need to talk.” Nicole glanced at her watch. “Just maybe not right this second, because I’m not actually on break.”  
  
“Oh! I’m so sorry.” Waverly looked at her own watch realizing her fifteen minutes had been up about three minutes ago. “I’m actually late getting back anyway.” She threw the cheesecake containers away and turned back to Nicole. “I just wanted to say thank you for apologizing when you didn’t have to, and even more for being here if I need to talk.”  
  
Without even thinking about it she walked up to Nicole, got up on her toes and kissed her on the cheek. It wasn’t until she was halfway back to her register that she realized what she had just done.


	9. Game Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Waverly gets ready for the Earp sisters game night.

Waverly quickened her pace trying to make it to the safety of her jeep before Tucker was able to catch up with her. She hit the unlock button and the beeping echoed across the mostly empty parking lot of Clootie’s. As soon as the door was in reach she grabbed the handle and swung it open, only to feel it be pushed closed. Refusing to turn around she simply kept her hand on the handle and sighed.  
  
“Waverly, I’m glad I caught you.” Tucker kept his hand above her head and leaned against the jeep. “Tonight is game night at the homestead isn’t it? Whose going to be your partner now that Champ is out of the picture?”  
  
She braced herself and turned around to see the usual smirk on his face. “No one, we’re playing one short.”  
  
He leaned in closer. “I mean, I could come be your partner, if you wanted?” His words were laced with a deeper meaning than just offering to participate in game night.  
  
“Oh, that’s ok.” She laughed uncomfortably hoping he’d drop it.  
  
“Are you sure? I wouldn’t want you to feel left out because you didn’t have another player.”   
  
Waverly searched the parking lot for familiar cars, or to get anyone’s attention. Unfortunately no one else seemed to be around. She felt uneasy and tried to excuse herself. “You know what? I actually forgot I’m supposed to bring snacks.”  
  
“I’ll help you pick out snacks.” He was attempting to block her from walking away. “Then we can go over together.”  
  
“No.” She heard the force in her voice and saw his face start to scrunch in anger. Putting on her widest smile she continued, “That’s really ok. I’m just going to drop them off and head home anyway, not in the mood for games. Maybe another time.”  
  
He stared at her for longer than necessary before finally speaking. “Suit yourself.” He puffed out air angrily, “don’t say I never offered.”  Finally backing away from the jeep he headed to his own car.  
  
Once back in the store she grabbed a basket and watched the door for a moment to make sure Tucker hadn’t actually followed her. Startled by a hand on her shoulder she quickly spun around to find Beth and Mercedes on their way out.  
  
“Waverly? Are you ok?” Mercedes asked. “You look upset.”  
  
“Is it Tucker again?” Beth asked before Waverly could respond.  
  
“What do you mean is it Tucker again? What did he do now?” Mercedes question was directed more to Beth than Waverly.  
  
“He was being a creep at the police station the night he and Champ got into it at Shorty’s. I had to practically push him out the door.” Beth sounded agitated at the memory.  
  
“Has he been bothering you?” Mercedes nodded toward the waiting car. “I’ll talk to him for you."  
  
“No, no. It’s nothing like that.” Waverly blurted out. “He’s just Tucker.” She held up the basket in her hand up and shook it a little. “I really have to go, but I’ll stop by the salon and see you guys soon.”  
  
She walked past them toward the snack aisle and could practically feel the unbelieving stare from Mercedes on the back of her head. Now that she had walked away she was regretting not just telling them the truth. Though he hadn’t harmed her, he did try to hold her hostage at her own vehicle.  
  
Once she was on her way to the homestead she started thinking that dropping off the snacks and heading home really was going to be her plan. With Chrissy moving out, this being her first game night without a partner, and whatever feelings she was having about Nicole, she thought a night in might do her some good. She pulled into the driveway and saw the usual cars parked in their normal spots, a familiar truck parked right out front, and another vehicle she didn’t recognize.  
  
…  
  
Waverly sat in her parked jeep outside deciding if she wanted to go in or not. She had been giving Nicole some space after the other night. She assumed she had only made things more awkward with that kiss on the cheek. Though she wasn’t sure where Nicole stood on her feelings for her, or if she even felt anything like Waverly had, she knew she needed to deal with her own feelings first. Spending more time with Nicole outside of work was definitely a start, but Waverly wondered why she was even here for game night to begin with.  
  
Finally mustering up the nerve, she grabbed the bag of snacks and ungracefully fell out of the open door of the jeep, barely catching herself before she completely hit the ground. She heard footsteps on the gravel behind her as she searched for the jar of salsa that had tumbled out.   
  
“Oh I got it!” An only slightly familiar voice rang out.  
  
When she looked up she now recognized the tall muscular man that stood before her. “Leo? Right?” She held the bag out for him to put the salsa back in. “Or Watts, as Jeremy calls you.”  
  
“That’s right.” He smiled. “I hope you don’t mind that we tagged along for game night?”  
  
“Oh. Not at all, who is we exactly?”  
  
He looked confused by the question, as if she should already know everyone attending. “Nicole, Shae, Rosita, Jeremy and I. Wynonna invited Nicole and told her bring anyone she wanted, the more the merrier.”  
  
“I don’t think I know Rosita or Shae.” Waverly scrunched her face trying to remember them.  
  
“You probably haven’t met them. Rosita and Jeremy work together on some sort of science stuff. Honestly I’ve never fully understood what they do.” He laughed to himself quietly. “Shae is their veterinarian, she specializes in wildlife care and rehabilitation.”  
  
The door to the homestead flew open with force followed by Wynonna bellowing out. “Babygirl! Come inside! We invited your friends!”  
  
Waverly laughed as her sister walked over and put her arm around her, already intoxicated. Wynonna wasn’t one to be affectionate most of the time, unless she was drunk, or really upset about something. “Get an early start to the night, Wy?”  
  
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” She patted Waverly on the back hard before continuing. “Let’s go! There’s whisky waiting for you.”  
  
…  
  
The room was erupting in laughter as everyone watched Robert attempt to act out a movie title. By this point he had messed up his hair, removed his shirt and found an object to draw a face on while carrying it around pretending to talk to it. Waverly knew the movie was Cast Away, but unfortunately wasn’t able to guess this round. When the time finally ran out, her and Robert both yelled it at the same time. He sat back down next to Willa who quietly expressed her love for him in a moment Waverly assumed she wasn’t supposed to hear.  
  
After several more rounds of charades Waverly was starting to wonder about the nature of Nicole and Shae’s relationship. It seemed as though Shae was inching closer and becoming increasingly flirtatious as the night went on. Waverly was startled when she felt a nudge against her knee.  
  
“You alright there small fry?” Rosita asked with a knowing tone.  
  
She turned to see Rosita was also watching the other two across the room. “What do you mean? I’m fine.” Sounding more defensive than she intended to, she tried to recover. “Just tired of charades maybe.”  
  
“Or tired of watching those two play their own private game over there?”  
  
“Their relationship isn’t any of my business.” She stated matter of factly.  
  
Rosita sighed, “Well of course not, but it can’t be easy watching Shae hang all over Nicole when you also like her. Right?”  
  
Waverly felt her body tense in shock, “I, uh.” Waverly laughed nervously. “I’ll be right back.”  
  
Grabbing her shot glass she quickly ran into the kitchen and downed two more shots of whisky before running upstairs to her old bedroom. Once inside she realized her sisters hadn’t moved any of the stuff she’d left behind. The twin sized bed sat against the wall near the window, her desk was across from the foot of the bed with books still piled neatly on it. On the other side of the room was her dresser, she opened the top drawer to find the clothing she hadn’t taken with her folded neatly like she left it. Tears began welling up in her eyes, she felt stupid for thinking Nicole would feel anything for her. Especially with someone as beautiful as Shae available and practically throwing herself at her.  
  
“Waverly?” The only voice she wanted to hear and not hear at the same time whispered her name through the door followed by a light knock.  
  
“Come in, it’s open.” She wiped away any threat of tears falling down her cheeks.  
  
The door opened with the same creek it always did. She heard Nicole step inside and shut the door behind her.  
  
“Are you ok? You kind of bolted out of the living room. Did Rosita say something to upset you?” Nicole asked in her usual gentle tone.  
  
“I’m surprised you even noticed I’d left.” Waverly quipped while folding her arms across her chest and leaning her weight to one side.  
  
“Of course I noticed, you seemed upset. Why wouldn’t I notice?” Nicole’s brow furrowed in genuine confusion.  
  
Waverly shifted her weight to the other side, “I’m surprised you noticed anything with Shae hanging all over you.” She watched a smile spread across Nicole’s lips, “What are you smirking about?” She pouted angrily.  
  
“Waverly Earp, is this you being jealous?” Nicole sauntered toward her stopping about a foot away.  
  
“Jealous? Me? No, definitely not.” She had to think of a reason for her odd behavior, though deep down she knew it was in fact jealousy. “It’s just my first game night without Champ, and I wasn’t prepared to spend it with a bunch of couples. Rosita and I are the only single people here.”  
  
Nicole looked at her with a sad expression. “I hadn’t really thought about how you must be feeling coming here without Champ for the first time, I’m sorry.” Nicole played with the bottom of her untucked shirt like she wasn’t sure if she should say anything more. “But Shae and I aren’t a couple. We went to college together, and she’s expressed wanting a relationship several times, but I have never been interested in her like that.”  
  
“Oh, I’m sorry, I just assumed.” Waverly hung her head down, ashamed of acting so foolishly.  
  
Without saying anything Nicole closed the gap between them and wrapped her arms around Waverly. Again she felt safer than she ever had before, and she grabbed Nicole and pulled her in tighter.  
  
“You can always talk to me, we’re friends.” Nicole’s words hurt a little, they were only friends.  
  
Even though Waverly felt like she could have stayed like that forever she knew it was impossible. “We should head back down stairs before they wonder what happened to us.”  
  
“Yeah, we probably should.”  
  
…  
  
The remainder of game night went smoothly. Jeremy and Leo were incredibly in sync with one another, while Doc and Wynonna argued about who was right and wrong, and Shae continued to flirt with Nicole unmercifully. What was really bothering Waverly though was how Rosita knew about her feelings. It seemed everyone else, including Nicole was completely oblivious. She caught Rosita’s attention and nodded her head toward the front door before getting up to grab her coat.  Several minutes later Rosita joined her on the front porch.  
  
“How did you know?” Waverly asked without even looking at the other woman.  
  
“How did I know what?” Rosita asked knowingly.  
  
Waverly turned and squinted at her. “How did you know about my feelings for Nicole?”  
  
“Ah, that.” Rosita smiled. “Well you looked incredibly sad watching them from across the room. Since you’d only just met Shae, I had to assume it was due to Nicole.”  
  
“Please, don’t say anything to her, I’m not sure what I’m feeling, and I want to tell her myself once I figure that out.” Waverly stared at her pleadingly.  
  
“I would never tell her, but I can assure you that her and Shae will never be a thing, if that’s any consolation.” Rosita grabbed the door handle, but turned around before going inside. “Figure out what you really want before going down that road, she’s been hurt too many times before.”  
  
As Rosita opened the door Waverly could hear Willa and Wynonna arguing over who had the better Haught puns. She peeked through the window and saw Shae snuggled up into Nicole’s side. Rosita’s words replayed in her head and her heart broke a little knowing someone had hurt Nicole in the past. Or several people maybe, she wasn’t sure. What she did know is she couldn’t stand to go back inside, she texted Willa that she wasn’t feeling well and decided to head home. As she was walking to her jeep she heard the sound of tires on gravel. She looked up to see a black sedan speeding off down the road. Even though she couldn’t make it out exactly, she thought it looked a lot like Tucker’s car.


	10. To Go Or No

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Waverly wakes up to a voicemail from someone she'd never expect. And an invite she's not too sure about.

Waverly woke up the next morning to her phone ringing. She rolled over to answer just as it stopped. Her phone showed she had several missed calls and a voicemail, all from Beth Gardner. Unsure why Beth would be calling so early she decided to listen to the voicemail. Still fighting the sleepiness in her eyes she squinted and pressed play before putting her phone up to her ear.  
  
“Waverly, I know it’s early and I’m sorry. I’m calling because I wanted to meet up with you, maybe grab some breakfast. I know something is going on with Tucker…” there was a pause before Beth continued. “I’m hoping he isn’t giving you problems again, but if he is please don’t hesitate to let Mercedes and I know. Give me a call back when you get a chance.”  
  
She sat in the silent apartment trying to decide if she wanted to take Beth up on her offer. Telling Beth and Mercedes may be the best solution, but she wasn’t completely sure that it was in fact Tucker she saw taking off from the homestead last night. Was there really an issue with Tucker, or was he just acting out due to her recent break up with Champ? If he saw Waverly and Beth together he would only get more upset like he had in high school, but she didn’t really care. She dialed Beth’s number and waited a few rings.  
  
“Hello?” Beth practically sang.  
  
“Beth? It’s Waverly.”  
  
“Hey Waverly, I’m so glad you called me back. Sorry about all the calls.”  
  
“I slept through them, no worries.” Waverly paused a moment, for some reason she was nervous about hanging out with Beth alone. They hadn’t been alone since that day Tucker walked in on them. They actually hadn’t hung out much since then. “So about breakfast, what did you have in mind?”  
  
…  
  
The GPS stated the destination was coming up on the right. Beth had suggested meeting at a diner outside of Purgatory. Waverly pulled into the parking lot and surveyed the area. After parking next to Beth she got out and looked at the little diner. It didn’t look like anything special, similar to the diner in Purgatory, however Beth said the food was better. The ring of the bell above the door caused most of the patrons to turn around, but they were clearly disinterested in who was coming in. She spotted Beth tucked in a booth in the back and made her way over.   
  
“Hey you made it!” Beth greeted as Waverly sat down across from her.  
  
“Yeah. How did you discover this place?” Waverly asked while taking a minute to look around.  
  
“Remember Hetty? She worked here briefly before completely disappearing.” Her brow furrowed in concern. “I still wonder where she ran off to, and if she’s alright.”  
  
Waverly sat across from Beth in silence studying her facial expression. She was never particularly close with Hetty, who was a few years older than her, but based on Beth’s expression they were closer than Waverly had ever realized. Beth appeared to shake off whatever thought she was having and turned her attention back to Waverly.  
  
“So you wanted to discuss Tucker?” Waverly asked.  
  
Beth nodded, seeming to try and choose her next words carefully.  
  
“He’s been acting off lately. The only other time I can remember him being like this is in high school, when he walked in on you and I.” A small smile spread across her lips but she quickly pulled it back and cleared her throat. “He, um, seems to be leaving the house at odd hours and not telling either of us where he’s going. When we confront him, he says he picked up extra hours at Clootie’s.”  
  
Waverly sat in silence for minute trying to decide what exactly to tell her. She was about to speak when the waitress came to take their order and refill their coffee cups. After the interruption she found herself back at square one and staring blankly out into the now busy diner. She spotted a familiar red head in the opposite corner and immediately turned her attention back to Beth to try and avoid eye contact. The last thing she needed now was Nicole coming over after she vanished without a word the night before. Finally mustering up the courage she started to explain to Beth what had been happening with her brother.  
  
“At first he just started talking to me while I was trying to clock in at work. I assumed it was due to my recent break up with Champ.” She fidgeted a bit, still nervous about Tucker’s possible reaction when he realizes she’s involved his sisters, but something had to be done. “Then last night before I ran into you and Mercedes he tried to invite himself to game night with me by trapping me up against my jeep and not letting me leave. He only gave up when I told him I wouldn’t be staying for game night.”  
  
Waverly stopped talking when a realization hit. It had to be Tucker’s car outside the homestead. It’s just like him to follow her there to verify she hadn’t stayed and participated in game night. The panic must have shown on her face because she was pulled from her thoughts by the feeling of Beth’s hand covering her own from across the table.  
  
“Waverly?” Beth shook her hand a little. “Are you okay?”  
  
“Beth, I think he may have followed me to the homestead last night. When I was leaving I saw a dark sedan take off down the road, but I can’t be one hundred percent sure it was him since it was night time.”  
  
“Well, he wasn’t home last night, so I can only assume it was probably him.” Beth looked angry. “I’m so sorry you’re still dealing with this from him.” She apologized, “Just know that Mercedes and I are going to talk to him. If anything else happens don’t hesitate to call us, and if required the police. He needs to be held accountable for his actions, and my parents aren’t around to baby him anymore.”  
  
Waverly thanked Beth for being there for her and just as their food came they shifted the conversation to other subjects. They reminisced about when they were kids, talked about how the salon was doing and Waverly’s classes. Beth excused herself to use the bathroom and shortly after Waverly felt the cushion next to her sink down. She sighed with relief when she looked up to see Nicole had slid into the booth next to her.  
  
“Hey, I didn’t want to interrupt.” Nicole had a concerned look on her face. “I just wanted to see how you were feeling.”  
  
“I’m feeling much better, thank you.” Waverly couldn’t help but smile, Nicole was the most thoughtful person she’d met in a long time. “I’m sorry I took off without saying anything.” She again felt the warmth of Nicole’s hand on her arm before she heard Nicole speak again.  
  
“It’s ok.” Nicole smiled widely and Waverly watched the sunlight through the window light up the red hair sticking out from under the baseball cap she was wearing.  
  
“So, what brings you to this diner?” Waverly almost regretted the question when she noticed a small shift in the other woman’s facial expression, she looked slightly irritated.  
  
“Shae insisted we go to breakfast this morning before I spend all day getting ready to head into the woods for the weekend.” Nicole glanced back to the booth she had previously occupied before turning to Waverly with a giant smile on her face. “You should come on this trip with me. You never did tell me about the history of the Pine Barrens.”  
  
Waverly felt that usual panic start to set in. “Well, I don’t know. I wouldn’t want to be in the way.” She then remembered she was also scheduled to work at Clootie’s that weekend, though that was the last place she wanted to be with Tucker there. “Plus I have to work this weekend.” She stated dishearteningly.  
  
Nicole leaned over and nudged Waverly’s shoulder with her own. “You know, you could always call out, I mean you totally weren’t feeling well yesterday.” She flashed a toothy grin in Waverly’s direction.  Waverly shook her head and opened her mouth to protest but was cut off. “Plus if you don’t come with me, I’ll be all alone in the woods, all weekend.” Nicole then turned her grin into a pout.  
  
Waverly was just about to respond when Beth returned and sat back down across from the other two women. “Oh, Nicole.” She smiled. “What exactly did I miss? You’re pouting.” Beth raised an eyebrow in suspicion.  
  
“I was trying to convince Waverly to come camping with me this weekend. I’ll be in the Pine Barrens taking notes on the behavior of the wolves in the area.”  
  
“Oh! Waverly, you should totally go.” Beth winked at her.  
  
Waverly could feel the blood rush to her cheeks. “Uh, well I would, but… I have to work this weekend.” She sputtered a little.  
  
Beth clearly didn’t miss the blush that had taken over her friends face. “Call out!” She threw her hand up. “Besides, staying away from my creep of a brother for a few days is probably for the best.”   
  
Beth and Nicole were staring at her expectantly. “Ugh, ok hang on.”  
  
Waverly shooed Nicole out of the booth and excused herself. She stepped outside the diner into the cold morning air and opened her phone to her contacts. Willa’s gravelly, half asleep voice answered after several rings. Waverly explained what had been going on with Tucker and that she felt it was best if she took the weekend off to distance herself. After some back and forth Willa reluctantly agreed to give her the weekend off and told her she would have a conversation with Tucker in the mean time.  
  
When she walked back into the diner she saw that Shae and Nicole were now both seated on her side of the booth. She composed herself before walking over and joining Beth on her side. The four women sat for another cup of coffee and talked about all sorts of things. Eventually Shae looked at her watch and told Nicole that she needed to get going as soon as she was done in the restroom.  
  
“Just be ready when I get back.” Shae said over her shoulder as she sauntered away.  
  
“I’m her ride.” Nicole said between sips of coffee.  
  
Beth and Wavelry nodded in understanding. “Oh, so did you get the weekend off?” Beth turned her attention to Waverly.  
  
“Yes, it took some convincing but Willa finally caved. Though I did tell her about what was going on with Tucker, so you might want to talk to her before she talks to him, because that might turn out poorly.”  
  
“So does that mean you’re coming camping with me?” Nicole beamed at her.  
  
“Yes, I’ll go camping with you.” Waverly nodded her toward the bathrooms to let Nicole know Shae was headed back to the table. “Just give me a call to let me know what I should pack.”  
  
Nicole stood and gathered her belongings. “I definitely will.”  
  
…  
  
Wavelry stood staring at the empty duffle bag on her bed. Knowing it would be cold out in the woods she started packing the warmest clothing she had, however she didn’t own a sleeping bag or tent. Grabbing her phone she sent a quick text to Nicole asking if she’d be willing to head to the local sporting goods store so she could get anything she may not already have. While waiting for a reply she continued packing the things she knew she needed such as underwear and toiletries. Her phone chimed about twenty minutes later.  
  
Nicole: I’d be happy to go with you and help you get the right gear. It’ll be cold so getting the right sleeping bag will be important. Don’t worry about the tent though, I’ve already got one! :)


	11. The Pine Barrens

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Waverly and Nicole head out to the woods.

A knock at the door pulled Waverly from the school work she had started. She glanced at her watch and was surprised that Nicole was right on time to pick her up. Champ had never been on time so she had gotten in the habit of doing whatever she wanted until he decided to eventually show up. She quickly got up to head to the door, grabbing her jacket on the way.  
  
“Hey!” Nicole smiled widely.  
  
“Hey yourself!” Waverly internally groaned at her response, she found it incredibly cheesy.  
  
“Are you only bringing a jacket with you?” Nicole pointed to the object Waverly was holding.  
  
“What?” Waverly looked down at her hand. “Right, I should, uh… get my bag.” She gestured for Nicole to come in and heard the door close as she walked out of the room.  
  
When she made it to her bedroom she started going over her packing list to verify she’d gotten everything. She was feeling the anxiety of camping build up a little and wanted to keep control of anything she could. She hadn’t told Nicole about her aversion to camping, or that she had only ever gone annually because Champ made her. Now that he tainted that camping trip by cheating, she wasn’t sure it was a good idea at all. As she was listing the items out loud and counting them on her fingers she heard the floor behind her creek. She turned to find Nicole had quietly walked in behind her and she felt her cheeks start to warm up with embarrassment of being caught talking to herself.  
  
“Sorry.” Nicole stated, looking like she’d done something wrong. “I heard you talking, and thought you were talking to me.” She started to back out of the room, “I”ll just…”  
  
“No, you’re fine.” Waverly exclaimed. “I was just triple checking my packing list.” She laughed a little to herself because truthfully this was probably the seventh or eighth time she’d checked it. Noticing Nicole’s raised eyebrow she added, “I’m a planner!”  
  
“Ok, whenever you’re ready then.” Nicole smirked before turning on her heel to walk out of the bedroom.  
  
Waverly zipped her bag before walking out to find Nicole making herself at home on the couch. Briefly she thought about Shae cuddling up to Nicole on game night, but quickly shook that memory off.  
  
“Ready?” Waverly asked as she rounded the couch.  
  
“I don’t know, this couch is really comfortable.” She tilted her head back to get more comfortable. “Much more comfortable than our accommodations in the woods will be.” She wiggled back into the cushion to prove her point further. “Maybe we should just cancel, and live the rest of our lives on this couch.”  
  
“If you think that couch is comfortable you should try the bed.” Immediately Waverly realized the conclusion that could be derived from that statement.  
  
Nicole’s head popped up from the back of the couch. “Is that so?” She smirked knowingly. “Maybe some other time, for now we’ve got some camping to do.” Nicole stood and winked at Waverly, taking her bag from her as she walked by and out of the apartment.  
  
…  
  
  
Nicole pulled into the parking lot of Jones and Sons, the local sporting goods store. They specialized in hunting gear, so they were sure to have a warm sleeping bag in stock. Waverly followed Nicole inside and shuddered when she saw Stephanie was working the register that day. Her father owned the shop now, and his father before him, going back several generations. She had planned to never step foot in here again after what happened between Stephanie and Champ, but there was really no other place that would carry what she needed. Clootie’s had sleeping bags, but not specifically for low temperatures. She had gotten distracted seeing Stephanie, and when she turned back Nicole was already half way across the store.  
  
“They have what I’ll need?” Waverly asked as she approached the other woman.  
  
“Really depends on how much you’re looking to spend.” Nicole said, while reading one of the tags. “I would probably recommend this one, but it’s a little more expensive, unfortunately.”  
  
Waverly twisted her mouth to one side and looked at the price. “Yeah, I don’t think I want to spend quite that much. Any others?”  
  
She watched as Nicole inspected the other options carefully until she stopped and grabbed one of them off the shelf. It was light blue with a plaid inner lining of black, white and the same light blue as the outside.  
  
“How about this one?” She held it toward Waverly so she could inspect it. “Technically it’s a double, but it’s on sale, and will definitely keep you warm enough.”  
  
“What exactly is a double sleeping bag?” Waverly asked as she checked the tag for the price.  
  
“Well, it’s made for two people.”  
  
Waverly thought about it for a minute. “Well it is cheaper than the other ones. Is there anything else I should get while I’m here?”  
  
“Nope. I should have everything else we need.”  
  
They both walked to the register and Nicole placed the sleeping bag up on the counter. Stephanie eyed the taller red head and smiled. She grabbed the sleeping bag and scanned the bar code on the tag.  
  
“Back again?” Stephanie asked Nicole.  
  
“Another camping trip.” Nicole smiled slightly at the woman behind the counter.  
  
“Buying a new sleeping bag already?” Stephanie raised an eyebrow in question.  
  
“Oh, this isn’t actually for me, it’s for…” Nicole trailed off when Stephanie, who clearly hadn’t been listening, interrupted.  
  
“Oh, and a double huh?” Her tone was flirtatious this time, “You already got company for the other half?”  
  
Seeing that Nicole was shifting uncomfortably, Waverly cut in. “This one is actually for me.” Though she didn’t intend it, her statement came out a little harsh.  
  
Stephanie turned her attention away from Nicole. “Waverly Earp? Going camping?” She laughed heartily. “I’m surprised you’d ever go camping again considering what happened last time.”  
  
“Funny.” Waverly retorted, “Is your husband working today? I’m sure he’d love your joke.” She pulled out her wallet to pay for the item and get out of there as quick as possible.  
  
Stephanie rolled her eyes and turned to Nicole, “Hope you’re prepared. She’s been terrified of the woods ever since her father died.” She threw the receipt on the counter and hurried off to the back room before either of them could respond.  
  
They walked out to the truck in silence, both too stunned to really say anything. Once inside Nicole started it up, but didn’t make any moves to leave. She turned in her seat to face Waverly.  
  
“You don’t owe me any sort of explanation, and I will understand if you don’t want to give me one.” She paused for a moment, seeming to decide her next words carefully. “But, are you afraid? Of the woods?”  
  
Waverly let out a long sigh. “I’m not exactly thrilled about camping.” She turned to face Nicole, who now had a look of concern. “The only reason I ever went camping was because Champ wanted me to go. On our last annual trip he cheated on me, with Stephanie.” She pointed back to the store to indicate she meant the same Stephanie they’d just encountered.  
  
“Waverly, you don’t have to go camping with me if you don’t want to. I would never force you to do something you didn’t want to do.”  
  
“I want to go camping with you.” Nicole looked skeptical. “I do, I promise. As far as what she said about my father, maybe I will explain that this weekend, but I haven’t talked about that in a long time, and I’m not sure I want to.” She felt tears start to well up a little, and Nicole reached over to place her hand on her leg, like she’d done several times before to comfort her.  
  
“You can tell me whatever you’d like, whenever you’re ready, and if that’s never, that’s ok too.” Nicole took her hand off Waverly’s leg to put the truck in reverse. “Also, Stephanie Jones is kind of a bitch.”  
  
Waverly laughed and nodded in agreement. “Yeah, she really is.”  
  
…  
  
  
After a stop to fill up the truck they were finally on the road heading to the Pine Barrens. They spent most of the ride blasting music and singing loudly. Nicole pulled off the main road onto a dirt trail lined by tall, thick pine trees. About a mile and a half in Nicole turned again and a shorter path led them to a small clearing where she finally brought the truck to a stop. They both got out and walked around to the back, unloaded all of the gear and started setting up the tent.  
  
“Is this where you usually set up when you come out here?” Waverly asked, glancing around the clearing.  
  
“We have several different spots, but based on the last time we were out here, this is the best one to hopefully encounter a pack traveling through.” Nicole struggled a little with one of the tent poles.  
  
“And what do we do if a pack does come through?” Waverly hadn’t thought about the possibility of encountering wolves, despite Nicole telling her that’s what they were out here for.  
  
Nicole laughed a little. “I know it sounds cliche, but they’re more scared of us than we are of them.” Seeing the obvious disbelief on Waverly’s face, Nicole continued. “If they come near, they’ll most likely just investigate what we’re doing out here and move on. If they behave oddly or look like they’re going to attack, just follow my lead.”  
  
Waverly nodded, though she wasn’t sure she felt any better about having a run in with wolves. They finished setting up the tent, laid out their sleeping bags and Nicole set up an area for a fire. Looking over the items they had, Waverly realized there was no fire wood.  
  
“Nicole? You didn’t bring any fire wood.” She felt like she was pointing out the obvious, but thought maybe Nicole hadn’t realized it when she was packing.  
  
“I usually just collect some. Want to come with me?” She tilted her in no particular direction, indicating they’d have to leave the clearing and venture deeper into the woods.  
  
“Um.” Waverly looked around at her surroundings, it was quiet, but not in an ominous way. “Sure.”  
  
They picked a direction and started walking, searching for anything decent enough to be used for a fire. Nicole broke the silence that had fallen between them. “So, why did no one settle here?”  
  
“According to local legends, when the first Europeans arrived and attempted to establish a settlement, the woods themselves began behaving oddly. It’s said that trees would uproot themselves and move, filling in any clearings they attempted to make, or blocking a path they had taken, often causing people to get lost.”  
  
“Trees would uproot themselves?” Nicole sounded skeptical. “I certainly haven’t run into anything like that.”  
  
“Let’s hope we don’t.” Waverly laughed. “Eventually the land was deemed uninhabitable, and rumors started circulating as to what could have literally brought a forest to life.”  


“And what was the consensus?” Nicole asked.  
  
“The most popular theory, and the one you’ll find in books at the local library, is that the forest is hiding the entrance to the Garden of Eden from those deemed unworthy of entering Paradise.”  
  
“So this land was never settled because they believed the entrance to the Garden of Eden is hidden somewhere in these woods, and the trees refused to allow them to find it?” Nicole dropped the armful of wood she’d been carrying next to the pit and began picking out pieces to build a fire.  
  
“According to local history, yes. Though the origins of that story are hard to trace, and the first recorded incidents are many years after the first settlers came here. It’s been fascinating to learn more about it while working on my senior thesis.”  
  
“What about the animals? They’ve managed to survive here for a long time.”  
  
“Maybe they’re worthy of Paradise.” Waverly shrugged.  
  
They continued talking about the local history and Nicole told Waverly that she volunteered for this assignment to get away from her hometown for a while. It seemed to Waverly that she wasn’t too fond of where she’d come from, but she didn’t push the subject any further. After silence fell between the two of them Nicole said she needed to head back into the woods to set up trail cameras before it got too dark. She asked Waverly if she wanted to go, but Waverly decided to stay by the fire and keep warm.   
  
Once Nicole got back they prepared a quick dinner and ate just before darkness had completely taken over. Besides the glow from the fire, it was pitch black, and the calming silence from earlier had been replaced with the sounds of the forest coming to life around them. The small portion of sky that was visible above them was riddled with stars, and it reminded Waverly of the nights her and Wynonna would spend laying in the grass together.   
  
As the fire started to die down they made their way into the tent to keep warm. Waverly fell asleep pretty quickly, but woke up several hours later. She was shivering, despite her multiple layers of clothing and cold weather sleeping bag. She knew she should have packed that bonus blanket. She moved around to try and cocoon herself tighter for warmth, when she heard movement from the other side of the tent she stopped, afraid to wake up Nicole. Waverly tried to fall back asleep but was shivering again, this time her teeth were chattering from the cold.  
  
Without saying a word, Nicole got up joined Waverly in her sleeping bag. She draped her arm over Waverly’s waist and pulled her in. At first Waverly felt her heart speed up a little, she wasn’t sure if she should say anything. She felt bad for waking her up, but Nicole was warm and comfortable, and before long Waverly had drifted back to sleep.


	12. Changing Directions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Waverly and Nicole encounter some odd behavior in the woods.

Waverly stretched her arms up above her head before reaching out next to her, only to find she was alone. The early morning rays were just starting to seep through the thin walls of the tent and she could hear the crackling of a fire outside. She pulled on her boots and jacket before exiting. Nicole was sitting next to the fire, hunched over looking at her laptop. Waverly could just make out that she was muttering to herself and quietly walked closer.  
  
“It doesn’t make sense, what are they doing?” Nicole was talking to herself, clearly unaware of Waverly’s presence.   
  
Waverly cleared her throat to let Nicole know she was standing behind her before speaking.  
  
“Good morning, everything okay?” Waverly asked, even though she could tell something was wrong.  
  
“The wolves seem to have been spooked by something last night, they had started coming into view and then ran back the direction they’d been coming from.” Nicole said, without even looking up from the screen.  
  
Waverly stood behind Nicole, watching the screen over her shoulder. She saw a couple of wolves come into view from the right side, they stopped briefly before turning and bolting off camera. There didn’t seem to be any explanation for the sudden shift of direction. They watched the footage a few times over and neither saw any reason the wolves would be scared.  
  
“I’m going to go check the area by the trail cams, you want to come with me?” Nicole asked, finally closing her laptop and getting up from the fire.  
  
“Well, I could stay and make breakfast instead?” After seeing the wolves get spooked, Waverly was even less interested in going into the woods, but making breakfast meant staying at the campsite by herself, and they didn’t know what caused the wolves behavior. “Actually, no, I’ll go.”  
  
They slowly walked into the woods and Waverly quietly took in her surroundings. She was regretting not going with Nicole the night before, because at least she’d know where exactly they were going, and how far into the woods it was. Nicole came to a stop just in front of Waverly and began looking around a small clearing.   
  
“Is this where you set the cameras up?” Waverly asked, trying to recognize the scenery from the earlier video.  
  
Nicole stood silently, but nodded in response. She lowered herself down to a catchers position and scanned the area, squinting her eyes in concentration. Waverly stood behind her trying to follow what she was looking at when she spotted something on the ground on the other side of the clearing. She pointed it out to Nicole who quickly made her way over to it. Nicole picked up the object and inspected it as she walked back over to Waverly.  
  
“What is it?” Waverly asked.  
  
“A flashlight.” Nicole handed it to Waverly.  
  
It was old and black, though the paint was worn and the glass was cracked. Waverly clicked the button but it didn’t turn on. She hit it in her hand a few times and it only flickered.  
  
“Did you drop this last night?” She asked as she turned it over in her hands still trying to get it to light up.  
  
“No, I didn’t have a flashlight with me.” Nicole was turning around in a circle looking at the remainder of the clearing for anything else that may indicate what happened. “It was probably already here and I just didn’t see it. It looks pretty beat up.”  
  
They stayed and searched for several more minutes before Nicole decided to move the cameras to a different location.   
  
…  
  
They sat in silence eating the sandwiches Waverly had prepared when they got back to their camp site. Nicole was back to reviewing the videos on her lap top again. Waverly watched her take a giant bite of her food, and then immediately try to speak. She was moving her hand in the air to call Waverly over, unable to make words with her mouth full. Waverly wasn’t sure what had her so excited, but she’d be lying if she said it wasn’t adorable.  
  
“Look at the left hand side of the screen.” Nicole said, finally swallowing her food.  
  
As the video played Waverly kept her eye on the left side of the screen, she could see the wolves start to come in on the other side, and just before they turned to run back, there was a brief flash of light. It lit up a tree further away from the camera and then disappeared. The source was coming from the same spot they found the flashlight earlier that day.   
  
Waverly felt a panic start rising in her and her surroundings seemed farther and farther away. She found herself trapped in the memory of the day her father died. Her Aunt Gus and Uncle Curtis sat her down on the couch between Willa and Wynonna, the three of them sat there in silence while they were told their father had died in an accident. Waverly looked from Willa to Wynonna for comfort. Wynonna showed no emotion, sitting in complete silence staring past her Aunt and Uncle, and Willa had a look of anger. She remembered Willa telling her to stop crying, but most everything after that remains a blur. It wasn’t a perfect recollection of the memory, but the parts she did remember have stayed with her, and always will.   
  
As the memory faded Waverly could feel hands cupping her face, and Nicole’s voice became more clear. Her eyes met with Nicoles when she finally looked up, and somehow she was sitting in one of the chairs next to the fire. Nicole was knelt down in front of her.  
  
“Waves?”  
  
“I’m sorry, I don’t know what happened.” Waverly looked around to ground herself back to reality. “How did I end up here?”  
  
“You kind of spaced out, so I walked you over here.” Nicole got up and pulled the other chair over, sitting down facing Waverly. “You were mumbling something about your father.”  
  
“I was? What was I saying?”  
  
“Oh, well, I couldn’t really understand most of it.” Nicole inched to the edge of her seat and reached out to take Waverly’s hands in her own. “Do you want to talk about it?”  
  
Most people in town had made a lot of assumptions about what happened to her parents, and she never had the energy or desire to correct them. She always wanted others to see her as a positive person who didn’t let their past get the better of them, but with Nicole, she wanted to tell her everything. And she found that terrifying, but sitting there with Nicole’s hands holding her own, she felt safe. Waverly took a deep breath before speaking.  
  
“When I was about four years old my mother left us alone with my father. He had his flaws, but he did his best to raise us, though I had always felt some resentment from him. I never felt truly loved, and Willa always blamed me for Momma leaving.”  
  
Waverly paused remembering how cruel her oldest sister used to be, and she felt Nicole squeeze her hands just a little tighter in her grasp, and it gave her the strength to continue.  
  
“Ward, my father, spent the next couple years looking for my mother. When I was six he thought he had finally tracked her down. He had been given information on her whereabouts, but it turned out to be a set up. One day he went out to meet up with the man that had claimed he knew Momma, but when my father arrived at their meeting spot, in the middle of the woods, seven ex cons he had previously arrested murdered him and fled the scene. Sheriff Nedley dedicated years to finding all of the men responsible for my father’s murder. He’s tracked down four of them, and they’re serving life sentences.”  
  
Waverly heard Nicole make an audible gasp, and she looked up to meet teary brown eyes.  
  
“Waverly, I’m so sorry you went through that.”  
  
“Want to know the real kicker?” Waverly laughed a little, uncomfortably. “I found out years later that my mother had cheated on my father, and I’m not actually an Earp. That’s why Willa blamed me, and my father was so distant.”  
  
Nicole stood up, pulling Waverly with her, and before she knew what was happening Waverly found herself wrapped in a hug. She put her arms around Nicoles waist and allowed herself to feel safe and comfortable in the moment.  
  
“I’m sorry.” Waverly said, finally breaking the silence.  
  
“You don’t have anything to apologize for.” Nicole’s voice was low and quiet.  
  
“That was just a lot to dump on you.” Waverly pulled away and started pacing, suddenly feeling bad for word vomiting everything at Nicole. “Who does that to someone?”  
  
Nicole grabbed Waverly’s shoulders mid pacing and turned her to face her head on.  
  
“Waves, I asked.” Nicole dropped her hands from Waverly’s shoulders. “I want to know you.”  
  
Waverly looked up and searched Nicole’s face for any trace of insincerity, but was only met with understanding and curiosity. She’d never known anyone that wanted to know her for her. Champ was only ever interested in her body, and with a few exceptions, most everyone thought they knew her before they even met her. People in small towns liked to talk, and they thought they knew everything about everyone.  
  
“You do?” Waverly watched Nicole silently nod in response.  
  
Suddenly she felt very aware of her feelings for Nicole. All the times she’d felt comforted by her touch, or why she found her so intriguing. She tried telling herself it was just because Nicole was someone new in town, someone who didn’t know her past, but now in this moment she realized it was more than that. Before she could stop herself she backed Nicole up to her chair, sat her down and got up into her lap. She took Nicole’s face in her hands, she paused and stared into Nicole’s eyes. Deciding she had to know where these feelings could take her, she closed the space between them, but before their lips met she felt Nicole’s hand on her shoulder.  
  
“Are… are you sure?” Nicole’s voice was shaky.  
  
Waverly wasn’t prepared for that question, and she didn’t know where it was coming from. Did Nicole think she wasn’t capable of making her own decisions? Was she really like everyone else that thought they knew what was best for her?  
  
“Why wouldn’t I be?” Waverly tried to keep her composure and not jump to conclusions. “I mean, do you not want..?” Waverly’s question trailed off.  
  
“I just, I would never ask you to be something or someone you’re not. But I absolutely want to, I’ve wanted to since game night, in your bedroom. I just wanted to make sure.”  
  
Waverly pushed Nicole back into the chair and leaned forward, closing the gap between them once again. This time Nicole didn’t push back, and as their lips met for the first time Waverly had never felt so connected to another person. She found herself lost in soft lips and the scent of vanilla dipped donuts.


	13. Intruder

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nicole and Waverly have an interesting encounter in the woods.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all. I am late a day, I apologize. Hope you all enjoy this chapter.

Waverly woke up in the middle of the night tangled around Nicole in the two person sleeping bag. She sat up and stretched, immediately missing the warmth Nicole’s body provided. She laid back down and turned on her side, facing the same direction as Nicole, and backed up closer to her to get warm once again. Deciding to try and get more sleep, she closed her eyes, calmed her breathing and took in the quiet surrounding them. Something felt off to her, but she tried to ignore it as best as she could, until she heard the snap of a twig not far from the tent. Assuming it was just an animal passing by, she started the process over again, and just as she was drifting off to sleep, the sound of footsteps on the other side of the tent wall startled her.  
  
“Nicole.” She whispered while shaking Nicole’s shoulder lightly.  
  
“Mmmphm.” Nicole made some unintelligible noise in response.  
  
Waverly heard the foot steps move to the other side of the tent where Nicole’s sleeping bag lay empty. She shook Nicole harder this time and she finally woke up groggily.  
  
“I’m up, I’m up.” Nicole finally sat up rubbing her eyes.  
  
“Shh, I’m sorry.” Waverly whispered. “But, someone is walking around outside the tent.”  
  
Waverly felt Nicole tense up, and she seemed much more alert now than she had been a minute ago. They sat in silence and again heard footsteps walking around toward the door of the tent. Nicole reached across and grabbed her backpack, as quietly as possible unzipped a pocket and took out a hunting knife. She got out of the sleeping bag and crouched down facing the door of the tent.  
  
“Whoever is out there, you need to leave.” Nicole said firmly. “I’m armed, and I won’t hesitate to defend myself.”  
  
There was no movement from the other side. Waverly sat perfectly still unsure of what to do. She thought about what she had shared with Nicole earlier that day, about her father and what happened to him. Every negative possibility was now invading her thoughts. She felt like she was seeing Nicole reach for the zipper to the tent in slow motion, every part of her told her to stop Nicole from leaving the tent, but she couldn’t bring herself to move. The sound of the zipper was loud against the quiet that had once again surrounded them, it was also quickly followed by footsteps running in a direction away from the tent.  
  
Waverly heard what sounded like someone falling hard to the ground, followed by a loud painful groan and more fading footsteps. She stood up outside the tent next to Nicole and saw a set of headlights flicker on, Nicole wrapped her arm around Waverly’s shoulders and they watched the headlights fade into the distance.  
  
They had considered leaving that night, but the thought of packing everything up in almost complete darkness didn’t appeal to either of them. They agreed that heading out as early as possible was their best choice. Waverly felt bad that they had to leave a day early, but they both agreed it may not be safe to stick around. They barely slept the rest of the night, but Waverly felt better knowing Nicole kept the knife close by in case whoever it was came back.  
  
…  
  
Nicole threw the last of the gear into the back of the truck and shut the tailgate with a dull thud. Waverly watched from the passenger seat as she climbed in and started the engine. She was thinking about their kiss from the night before and smiled, she wasn’t sure what they were, or if she could tell anyone about them. The thought of talking to Nicole about what was going on between them scared her, not because Nicole was a woman, but because Nicole actually cared.   
  
“Penny for your thoughts?” Nicole reached over and tapped Waverly’s hand.  
  
“Oh, I was just thinking I could totally go for breakfast.” Waverly hoped Nicole couldn’t hear the nervousness in her voice. She wanted to figure out what they were, but she wasn’t sure she was ready for that conversation.  
  
“There’s that diner outside of town that makes amazing pancakes.” Nicole raised her eyebrows and gave Waverly a side glance while waiting for her response.  
  
“That sounds totally amazeballs!” Waverly’s mouth started watering just thinking about it. She hadn’t realized she was actually hungry until Nicole mentioned pancakes.  
  
They drove in silence for a while before Nicole pulled into a small parking lot with only a few cars. Waverly realized it was the same place she’d gone when she had breakfast with Beth. They entered the small diner and Waverly was hit with the smell of coffee and maple syrup. She followed Nicole to a booth in the back of the diner and slid into the seat across from her. Nicole took off the backward baseball hat she’d been wearing, and Waverly couldn’t hold back her laughter as red hair busted out in all directions.  
  
“What’s so funny?” Nicole asked, pouting a little.  
  
“Nothing… it’s just.” Waverly took in Nicole’s pout and thought how pathetic, but cute it was. “Your hair is just very big.”  
  
Nicole looked up toward her forehead before running her hands through her hair, looking a little self conscious.  
  
“No, it’s cute.” Waverly laughed as she reached across the table to tuck a runaway strand behind Nicole’s ear, but quickly pulled her hand away when an unfamiliar voice broke into their bubble.  
  
“Hey you!” A waitress had walked up to their table. “You getting the usual today?” She winked at Nicole.  
  
“Coffee and chocolate chip pancakes.” Nicole replied.  
  
“And for you?” The waitress turned to Waverly and smiled.  
  
“Hot tea and pancakes with fresh fruit, please.” Waverly watched the waitress jot down her order before she turned back to Nicole.  
  
“Where’s the rest of the gang today?” She asked.  
  
“Just me this weekend, and Waverly, of course.” Nicole smiled at Waverly from across the table.  
  
“Waverly, nice to meet you. I’ll go ahead and put your orders in and be back soon with your drinks.” With that the waitress hurried off toward the kitchen.  
  
Waverly wondered how often Nicole and the others came to eat here on their way back from the Pine Barrens. The waitress said ‘the usual’ like she already knew what Nicole would order.  
  
“So, you guys stop here often?”  
  
“Almost every time we come out here.” Nicole laughed to herself. “Sometimes Jeremy forgets to eat when he’s, ‘in the zone’, as he calls it. He’ll come here and order a huge breakfast, which takes him forever to eat. The rest of us just sit here waiting for him to finish.” Nicole shook her head.  
  
Waverly laughed at the image of Jeremy sitting there with a bunch of food, and everyone else just staring at him waiting to finish. The waitress came back with their drinks and let them know their food would be out soon. Waverly grabbed her tea cup with both hands and let the warmth sink in. She breathed in the steam and let the smell of the earl gray tea calm her.  
  
“Waverly.” Nicole’s face became serious. “We should talk about what happened last night.”  
  
“Oh, yeah.” Waverly had tried to forget the intruder now that she was out of the woods.  
  
“Do you have any idea who might have known where we were?” Nicole asked. “At first I thought it may be Shae, since she knows where we typically set up, but I don’t think she’s the type to sneak around in the dark. And she wouldn’t have run away.”  
  
“The only ones who knew I was coming with you were Beth and Stephanie.”  
  
“Hm.” Nicole sighed heavily, “Could it have been Tucker? Beth is his sister, and Stephanie seems to have a personal vendetta against you.”  
  
“Beth wouldn’t have told him, she knows how he is. And Stephanie is more upset with him for taking the pictures of her and Champ in the first place. Did you check to see if the cameras picked up anything else?” Waverly asked.  
  
“I reviewed them this morning. The pack moved through the new location uninterrupted, nothing unusual on the footage.”  
  
“Tucker is my best guess, I just don’t know how he would have known we were out here. What do you think we should do?”  
“Well, let’s make sure it was actually him.” Nicole sighed. “But first let’s eat.” Nicole tilted her head in the direction of the waitress walking over with their food.  
  
Waverly nodded silently and stared down at her pancakes. Nicole reached across the table and grabbed her hand. When Waverly looked up she was met with Nicole smiling slightly. She knew they’d figure this out together.  
  
…  
  
“Was it my imagination, or were you and Haught-stuff both off this past weekend?” Wynonna bumped her hip into Waverly’s.  
  
“Definitely your imagination.”  
  
“Oh, come on Waves.”  
  
Waverly could feel Wynonna staring at her. She had been trying to open her locker and get ready for her shift, but being questioned regarding her whereabouts with the red head was making her blush, and she couldn’t let Wynonna see her blush.  
  
“Look, Wynonna, I’m trying to get ready for work. Do you mind?” Waverly snapped, and swung her locker open, making a loud bang against the locker next to hers.  
  
“Damn Babygirl, ok.” Wynonna raised her hands up and slowly backed away.  
  
Waverly felt terrible for snapping at Wynonna like that. She knew her sister meant well, and she knows she’d be supportive of her and Nicole, but Waverly wasn’t even sure what was going on with the two of them. They also needed to figure out if it was Tucker that had followed them. Lost in her own thoughts, Wavelry absentmindedly dragged the items SKU’s over the lasers, listening to the rhythmic beeping around her.  
  
“Waverly.” Willa was standing at the end of the register. “When you have a minute can you come to the front office?”  
  
“Of course, I’ll be there soon.”  
  
Waverly thought for sure she was going to be spoken to about relationships with coworkers, she knew Willa wasn’t thrilled with the idea of two associates dating. She always told Waverly it only led to distractions and mistakes. After Wynonna’s questioning earlier and how Waverly had responded, it wouldn’t be surprising if Wynonna had said something.  
  
Waverly tentatively knocked on the door to the office and opened it. She was surprised to see Willa, Wynonna and Dolls sitting together in the small office, and now she had no idea what the meeting could be about. Waverly walked in and sat in the last open seat and waited.  
  
“Waverly, we wanted to meet with everyone about missing electronics stock.” Dolls leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, and staring intently at her.  
  
“What kind of equipment?” Waverly asked.  
  
“Mostly cameras and video equipment.” Willa stated. “It was scanned into the inventory, but can’t be found anywhere in the store.”  
  
“Do you recall seeing any employees leaving with items they shouldn’t? Or being in areas of the store they don’t normally work in?” Dolls asked.  
  
“No.” Waverly shook her head. “You think it’s an employee?”  
  
“Most likely, a customer would set off the alarms if they left the store with the security tags still on.” Wynonna finally chimed in. “And no alarms were triggered.”  
  
Waverly thought back over the last few months.   
  
“Well, I don’t remember seeing anything unusual. But I will let you know if I do.”  
  
Dolls nodded, and Waverly took that as the conversation being over. She stood up and walked out of the door, followed by Wynonna.  
  
“Waves, can we talk?” Wynonna asked.  
  
“Wy, I’m sorry, about earlier.” Waverly wanted to apologize before Wynonna could, because she’d done nothing wrong.  
  
“You know you can talk to me, if something is wrong.”  
  
“I know Wynonna.” Waverly wanted to tell Wynonna, but she just wasn’t ready to say anything to anyone. “I will tell you, but not now. I’m not ready to talk about anything.”  
  
Wynonna twisted her mouth, and Waverly was anticipating her to push the subject.  
  
“Alright, fine.” Wynonna shrugged. “Now get back to work, we’re not paying you for nothing.”  
  
“You’re not paying me at all.” Waverly joked.  
  
She shook her head as she walked back to her register. The store had gotten busy in the last ten minutes while she was in that meeting. She turned her light on and immediately had a line of customers. The few times she’d gotten the chance to look around, she had seen Willa, Dolls and Wynonna taking turns going to get employees to speak with. Wynonna walked by with Nicole, and she turned to Waverly and winked.  
  
The last hour of work was really slow, and Waverly couldn’t wait to clock out and go home. She took off her vest, placed it in her locker and gently closed the door. The padlock clicked closed, and she was finally done for the day. She swiped her badge, and walked as quickly as her tired feet would carry her out to the parking lot, and straight to her Jeep. The doors unlocked with a click, she crawled into the drivers seat and turned the engine on. She laid her head back and closed her eyes to wait a few minutes for the engine to warm up. A knock on the drivers side window startled her, but on the other side was a familiar smile.  
  
“Hey you.” Waverly greeted as she rolled down the window.  
  
“Hey, how was your day?” Nicole asked genuinely.  
  
“Tiring, and long. How about yours?”  
  
“About the same.” Nicole nodded. “I don’t want to keep you, I just wanted to say goodnight.”  
  
Nicole looked over her shoulder and around the parking lot before leaning into the window. Waverly eagerly leaned forward and met her half way. Though she didn’t think it was possible, this kiss felt as magical as the first, and the other ones that had followed. Nicole pulled away and smiled brightly.  
  
“Goodnight, Nicole.”


	14. Interrogation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Waverly has a day at work filled with interruptions.

For the next several days Waverly watched as the managers kept a close watch on the employees. They continued to call them into the office to question them. As far as she knew nothing else had gone missing, but they still hadn’t recovered anything either. The store wasn’t currently busy and she was taking this opportunity to stare longingly into the produce department and watch her, well, she wasn’t sure what Nicole was. She saw someone approach out of the corner of her eye and her stomach sank when she realized it was Tucker.  
  
“Waverly, what are you staring at?” Tucker eyed her suspiciously.  
  
“Nothing.” She answered shortly. “What do you need Tucker?”  
  
“Crazy that they’re investigating the employees, isn’t it?” He threw a couple items on the conveyor belt.  
  
“I guess so.” Waverly hadn’t really paid any attention to him, until she finally looked up at him. He had several cuts and bruises on the left side of his face. “What happened to your face?”  
  
“I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He snapped, a little too aggressively.  
  
“Your face, Tucker, it’s all bruised and cut up.” She pointed to her own face to indicate the area he had injuries.  
  
“Oh, right.” He shifted his weight to his other foot, looking uncomfortable with her questioning. “I fell.”  
  
“Well, where….” Waverly tried to get further info but he cut her off.  
  
“I need to go.” He threw money at her, grabbed his stuff and hurried off.  
  
She watched him walk out the doors by produce. He’d never tried to get away from her so quickly before.  
  
“What’s his problem?” Willa asked as she walked up to Waverly’s register.  
  
“I’m not sure, his face is all cut up, and when I asked about it, he ran off.” She turned to Willa and shrugged. “Odd, even for Tucker.”  
  
“Did you even scan his items?” Willa asked.  
  
Waverly shook her head. They stood staring in the direction he’d gone for a minute before Willa broke the silence.  
  
“Do you think maybe Tucker is the one stealing equipment?”  
  
“He does work in electronics. I don’t know what he would need all that stuff for though.”  
  
“Well, I know we’ve already talked to him, but maybe I’ll have Dolls question him alone. Last time Wynonna was there, and she terrifies him.” Willa laughed. “He’s always been afraid of her.”  
  
“To be fair, Wynonna wasn’t exactly nice to him.” She watched Willa’s face drop a little. “What’s wrong?”  
  
“You know Waverly, I’m sorry.” Willa looked down at her feet and took a deep breath. “Wynonna may have been mean to Tucker, but I was mean to you, and I’m sorry. I blamed you for things that weren’t your fault.”  
  
“Willa, you’ve apologized already. We were both kids, dealing with horrible tragedy and loss.” Waverly smiled when Willa looked up. “But thank you.”  
  
Willa nodded before saying something about going to find Dolls and having him track Tucker down. Waverly knew she should tell Willa about the woods, and that she thinks Tucker may have followed her out there, but she didn’t have proof it was him. Though, his face being scratched up was very suspicious.  
  
…  
  
“Psst” Waverly turned to see Nicole had just snuck up behind her. “Wanna take a break?” Nicole waved some guacamole and chips in the air and Waverly laughed.  
  
“Have you paid for those?” Waverly teased. “I heard there’s someone around here that likes to steal.”   
  
“I thought you liked things that were stolen from unsuspecting victims?” Nicole twisted her face in mock thought. “Or does that only apply to sunflowers?”  
  
“Very funny.” Waverly rolled her eyes. “Let’s go.”  
  
Nicole parked the truck by an old retention pond not far from Clootie’s. Technically they weren’t supposed to leave the grounds for their fifteen minute break, but neither were too concerned with that. Waverly watched as Nicole opened the bed of the truck and laid out a blanket. Waverly climbed up onto the blanket and made herself comfortable. Nicole grabbed their snack and joined her.  
  
“This is nice.” Waverly said while shoving a guac covered chip in her mouth. “Too bad we can’t stay out here too long.”  
  
“Well we could just not go back.” Nicole suggested, with a slight pout.  
  
“Nice try. Sadly, I need this job, for now.” Waverly shivered as the wind blew past them. Even though  it was sunny, the air was cold.  
  
“Fair enough.” Nicole laughed as she moved to sit behind Waverly.  
  
She leaned back into Nicole, who wrapped part of the blanket around them.  
  
“I saw Tucker earlier.” Waverly sighed. “He had some bruises and scratches on his face.”  
  
“Oh yeah? Consistent with a trip and fall in the woods maybe?” It was clear Nicole was trying to sound sarcastic, but Waverly knew it was a serious question.  
  
“I would say that’s entirely possible.” Waverly nodded. “He also ran off really quickly when I tried to ask him about it.”  
  
“Ugh.” Nicole made a guttural tone of disgust. “It was probably him in the woods. We just have to find a way to prove it so we can get him to leave you alone.”  
  
“Definitely. But for now, we should head back.”  
  
Waverly turned her head up and planted a kiss on Nicole’s lips, but pulled away quickly. Nicole grumbled in protest, but started packing up, despite it.  
  
…  
  
Waverly made it back to her register just as Tucker was being escorted into the front office by Dolls. She’d give anything to be a fly on the wall in that room right now. Mostly she wanted to know if he was going to question Tucker about what happened to his face. Wynonna joined her and stood there staring at the office door.  
  
“What’s up with Tuck Tuck?” Wynonna asked.  
  
“Willa asked Dolls to talk to him about the missing products again.”  
  
“What? Why?” Wynonna scrunched her face in question. “And how come I wasn’t invited?”  
  
“Because you scare him, apparently.” Waverly laughed. “Willa said last time he barely spoke.”  
  
“What? I only stared him down for like, a minute.” Wynonna scooted a little closer so she could whisper. “You bringing Red to game night tonight?”  
  
“Wy, come on. I told you.”  
  
“Yeah yeah, I know what you said.” Wynonna cut her off. “Look, you don’t have to tell me anything, but I’m not blind. You were jealous of that Shae girl last time they joined us.”  
“I was not.” Waverly crossed her arms over her chest defiantly. “I had just broken up with Champ, I wasn’t exactly having a good week.”  
  
“Yup, sure.” Wynonna laughed. “Hey, at least I like Nicole. But don’t tell her I said that.”  
  
“Ok, fine. Something is going on, but I don’t know what it is yet.” She could see Wynonna grinning devilishly out of the corner of her eye. “Do not say anything to her, or anyone else. Wy, I’m serious.”  
  
“You know, you’re taking all the fun out of this for me.” She put her hand on Waverly’s shoulder reassuringly. “Your secrets safe with me kid.”  
  
Waverly knew Wynonna wouldn’t say anything to anyone else, but she also knew it wouldn’t be the end of her relentless teasing. She’s always been like this, and secretly Waverly hopes she’ll never change. Though she’d never tell her, it would take all the fun out of it for both of them.  
  
Several minutes later they watched as Tucker stormed out of the office and headed toward the back of the store. Dolls exited right behind him, looked at the two of them standing there watching him, and walked over.  
  
“Well, that was interesting.” Dolls sighed.  
  
“What made it so, interesting?” Wynonna asked, a hint of seduction in her voice.  
  
“Uh, nothing.” Dolls side eyed Wynonna before turning his attention elsewhere. “Waverly, do you have a minute?”  
  
“Sure, let me just ring this customer out.”  
  
…  
  
Waverly knocked on the office door before entering. Dolls gestured to the seat across from him and she sat down. She wasn’t sure what to expect, or why he wanted to talk to her. Dolls leaned back in his seat and rubbed the bridge of his nose.  
  
“I just wanted to know if you had any reason to suspect Tucker may have stolen anything.” Dolls sat back up and looked at Waverly expectantly.  
  
“Well, no, not really.” Waverly stared down at her feet that barely touched the floor, and felt small. “I know he has followed Champ around before and took pictures of him without his knowledge. I don’t know if he’s done it to anyone else. Plus I’m sure you noticed his facial injuries.”  
  
“I asked him about the pictures, he said they were taken with his cell phone.” Dolls sighed. “According to him he fell walking home drunk from the bar. Do you think there could be another reason he could have been injured?”  
  
Waverly shook her head, she wasn’t sure if she should tell Dolls about anything Tucker had been doing. She was concerned it would only make Tucker lash out even more. Ultimately she decided to tell him about the things that happened before the camping trip, since she still had no hard evidence it was Tucker that night.  
  
“Tucker has always been a little possessive when it came to me. He hated Champ simply because we were dating, though there were so many other reasons to hate him.” Dolls was staring at her blankly. “Sorry, off topic. There’s been a few incidents since I started working here.”  
  
“Ok, anything specific you’d like to tell me about? Or any way that I can help with the problem?” Dolls sounded genuine.  
  
“He’s gone out of his way to talk to me, and of course the issue with the pictures he took of Champ and Stephanie. Aside from that, he has tried to corner me a couple times.” Waverly shuddered remembering when he pinned her against her Jeep before that game night. “Nothing recently, though.”  
  
“I can’t control what he does off shift, but I can certainly make an effort to keep an eye on him when we’re all here. If you think that will help, of course.”  
  
“I think that would be very helpful, thank you Dolls.”  
  
Waverly exited the office, knocking Wynonna and Willa over in the process. They’d been leaning against the door trying to listen in on the conversation. She wasn’t all that surprised to see them there, when they were kids the two of them would eavesdrop on the adults conversations. They both always knew what was going on in the family, and normally they’d keep it to themselves. On a rare occasion they’d tell Waverly what was said, but usually only if it was something important, or something they could tease her about. Like when they told her they overheard Uncle Curtis saying Santa wasn’t real, and he spent the weeks leading up to Christmas trying to convince her otherwise.  
  
“What are you two doing?” Dolls said from behind her.  
  
“I was trying to get into my office.” Willa said, standing up a little straighter.  
  
“Well, I was trying to listen in on the conversation.” Wynonna stated bluntly.  
  
“Really?” Willa shot Wynonna an annoyed look. “Ok fine, we were trying to listen.”  
  
Waverly laughed before excusing herself from the conversation that was sure to follow. She got the impression Dolls would have some words for her sisters and their eavesdropping. She sent Nicole a text asking her to game night before walking back to her register, where Champ was waiting for her. Waverly was surprised to see him, he hadn’t talked to her for quite some time.  
  
“Champ, something you need?” She asked, flatly, not wanting to come across too friendly in case he was going to try and convince her to take him back again.  
  
“I heard you had a run in with Stephanie at her father’s store.” He had an amused smirk on his face.  
  
“I needed some stuff, she happened to be working.” She shrugged.  
  
“Oh yeah, no that’s cool. Pete was standing behind you and overheard part of the conversation, said Stephanie was being a real bitch, but you gave it right back.”  
  
“Well, she’s never been the friendliest person.” Waverly couldn’t tell what Champ actually wanted, or the point to him starting this conversation.  
  
“I just, I wanted to say I’m glad you stuck up for yourself against her, and I wanted to apologize again.”  He looked down at his feet, like he was trying to compose himself. “I’m not here to try and convince you give me another chance, I was a terrible boyfriend, and you deserved better. I really am sorry, and I just wanted you to know.”  
  
“Oh.” Waverly didn’t know how to react, Champ had never actually apologized for anything before. “Thank you, Champ.”  
  
He nodded in response and walked away. She could tell he had wanted to say more, but he was stopping himself. He probably did want to ask for another chance, but he knew it was pointless to do so.  
  
The rest of her shift went by without anymore surprises or interruptions, and she felt lighter as she walked to the back room. Her phone chimed in her pocket just as she punched out for the night.  
  
Nicole: I wouldn’t miss it.


	15. Confused?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Waverly and Nicole have an interesting game night, and Waverly gets a not so pleasant surprise.

Waverly set a bowl of chips down next to the salsa she had brought. She loved her sisters, but they were horrible planners. Wynonna didn’t care as long as there was whiskey, and Willa wasn’t much into snacks, always leaving Waverly in charge for game night. Tonight though, she wasn’t letting it get to her. She and Nicole planned to partner up and she wanted to be focused and win, with Champ she’d never stood a chance. Though spending all day on schoolwork probably didn’t help, her brain felt tired. There was a knock at the door, followed by Willa yelling that she would get it.  
  
“Dolls! Good to see you, come on in.”  
  
Willa and Dolls joined Waverly in the kitchen, she was surprised to see him. She assumed Wynonna and Doc must be in one of their off stages. Though, she was interested to see how Dolls and Wynonna would play as a team. He seemed to be her complete opposite. Quiet and disciplined, two words she would never use to describe her sister. Waverly knew she had to have been really caught up in her own life to not have noticed what was going on between those two.  
  
“Wy! Dolls is here!” Willa yelled as she exited the kitchen in search of their other sister.  
  
Waverly never felt particularly inclined to talk with Dolls. Not because she didn’t like him, he just wasn’t much of a talker. They eventually exchanged pleasantries and some small talk while Waverly went back to washing dishes and getting the snacks prepared. She warned him that Wynonna can be a bit competitive, despite the fact that she always loses.  
  
“She didn’t strike me as the type to care about winning at game night.”  
  
“Well, don’t say I haven’t warned you.” Waverly teased. “If she loses, it will most likely be your fault.”  
  
“I wouldn’t expect anything less.” Dolls laughed.  
  
Waverly thought this was the first time she’d ever seen him smile. She chalked it up to him attempting to maintain a serious and authoritative presence on the job, she still thought he was a bit intense and took the job a tad too seriously sometimes. Though with the recent theft happening it may not be a bad thing.  
  
The sound of tires pulling into the dirt driveway got Waverly’s attention. She bounced to the door and swung it open, expecting to see Nicole’s truck, and of course Nicole. An unfamiliar car had pulled up instead, and all four doors opened. Jeremy, Leo, Rosita and Shae climbed out. Waverly felt the heat rising up in her, she didn’t know why Shae was there, but Nicole had said she wouldn’t be inviting her. It took everything she had, but Waverly swallowed her anger and greeted the four of them in the friendliest tone she could muster. Jeremy, Leo and Shae all quickly went inside to get out of the cold, but Rosita stopped and eyed Waverly.  
  
“Look, Nicole didn’t invite Shae.” Rosita whispered. “She overheard Jeremy and Leo talking about game night, said she had a great time last time. We all felt bad not bringing her.”  
  
“It’s ok.” Waverly faked a tight lipped smile. “Why would I mind if Shae is here?”  
  
“Really?” Rosita gave her knowing glance.  
  
“Did Nicole say something to you?”  
  
“Oh, she didn’t have to. She’s walking around with a dopey grin on her face twenty-four seven.” Rosita laughed.  
  
“Um, come on in.” Waverly could sense the warmth growing in her cheeks and quickly changed the subject. “How’s your work going in the Pine Barrens?”  
  
“Not too bad, though Jeremy and I have run into some strange samples recently.”  
  
“Really? Strange how?” Waverly was hoping it could help with her senior thesis.  
  
“Oh, well we recently came across several trees covered heavily in moss, but they were at the edge of the forest.”  
  
Waverly nodded feigning understanding about why that would be strange, though she was hoping Rosita would elaborate on the subject.  
  
“Isn’t moss found in the forest often?”  
  
“Yes, but moss needs dark, wet places to grow. Normally it would be found near a riverbed, or deep into the woods where the sunlight is always minimal. There is no water, and a lot of sunlight at the outer edges of the forest. Almost like…” Rosita trailed off in thought.  
  
“Almost as if they’d gotten up and walked themselves out of the woods and replanted?” Waverly asked.  
  
Rosita simply nodded in response before moving out of the doorway and into the kitchen to join the other guests. As Waverly was about to close the door a familiar truck pulled into the driveway. She stepped out onto the porch and waited for Nicole to park. Nicole got out of the truck and waved while making her way over to where Waverly was waiting. She approached and went to greet Waverly with a kiss, but Waverly pushed her shoulder back.  
  
“Shae is here, in the kitchen.” Waverly knew Nicole didn’t invite her, but she was still mad about the other woman’s presence.  
  
“Who invited her?” Nicole leaned over to look through the windows into the kitchen.  
  
“Rosita said she overheard them all talking, and they felt bad for not inviting her.”  
  
“I’m sorry, I should have just told them why I didn’t want her here.” Nicole hesitated for a minute. “We just haven’t had that conversation about telling others, or what exactly is going on with us.”  
  
Waverly knew they needed to have that conversation soon, she was about to tell Nicole so when the door swung open behind her. She felt the breeze of someone move past, and seconds later Shae’s arms were wrapped around Nicole and she was planting a kiss on her cheek. Waverly heard her whisper something to Nicole but she couldn’t tell what she actually said. Already annoyed by watching the display in front of her, Waverly exhaled in frustration and walked into the house.  
  
…  
  
Waverly sat on the couch between Rosita and Jeremy. Across the room she watched Nicole sit uncomfortably next to Shae, who had insisted on being her partner for the evening. Per usual Willa and Robert were in the lead. Dolls and Wynona were last, and they were arguing over whose fault it was, delaying the game because it was their turn. Waverly could feel the irritation building in her so she got up and excused herself.  
  
The sun was just beginning to set when Waverly made it to her mothers sunflower garden. She wasn’t sure what she was expecting to feel once she got there, but she needed to get away. The night was cold and the soft breeze only made it chillier, but she found her mothers garden peaceful. She remembered when she’d been here not too long ago and the flowers were still standing tall. With winter moving in and the nights getting colder, some were starting to wilt, their stalks broken or bent. She could feel her phone vibrating in her pocket, she glanced at it and had texts from Nicole, Wynona and Willa. She put her phone on silent and stuck it back in her pocket without reading any of the messages. The sun began to dip down behind the mountains and soon it would be too dark for her to drive back, so reluctantly she began the journey.  
  
Wynona was standing on the porch when Waverly pulled the ATV back into the barn. As she cut the engine she could hear the sound of boots walking through dirt in her direction.  
  
“Waves, you don’t get to skip out on game night without me.” Wynonna stood with her hands on her hips in the doorway of the barn.  
  
“I’m sorry, Wynonna.” Waverly leaned back on the seat of the ATV and crossed her arms. “Shae wasn’t supposed to be here, I’m exhausted and I figured leaving for a bit was better than taking it out on someone who isn’t aware they’re the problem.”  
  
“Why wouldn’t you just tell her?”  
  
“I don’t think that’s my place.”  
  
“Well, you and Rosita were kicking ass, so at least you had that going for you. Try being partnered with Dolls.”  
  
“I’m sure it’s been pure torture.” She rolled her eyes, her sister wasn’t one to be serious, but sometimes that’s what Waverly needed. It was Wynonna’s way of showing she cares.  
  
“Just talk to Nicole, I’m sure she’s not happy with the current situation either.”  
  
Waverly nodded in agreement, though the barn was only lit by moonlight so she’s not sure Wynonna could see her. She could hear more footsteps approaching and a tall figure appeared in the doorway.  
  
“Good luck Red.” Wynonna gave Nicole a slight punch to the arm as she walked out.  
  
Nicole walked over and stood in front of Waverly.  
  
“I’m sorry I took off.” Waverly started. “I was getting upset, and I needed a break. I’m exhausted from studying all day.”  
  
“I know you are.” Nicole leaned onto the ATV next to Waverly. “I’m not happy she’s here either, that’s why I didn’t want to invite her.”  
  
“You could have told her no to being her partner though.” Waverly sighed. “Instead you just let her get her way.”  
  
“Let who get their way?” Shae’s voice came from the doorway of the barn.  
  
“What are you doing out here? I said I’d be right back.” Nicole asked.  
  
“That was about fifteen minutes ago, I came to find you.”  
  
Waverly snuck out of the barn past Shae, she could hear them talking. She decided then she and Nicole needed to figure out what they wanted, and let everyone else know. She got to her jeep and sent Chrissy a text asking if she was free.  
  
…  
  
The next morning Waverly was dragging herself into Clootie’s. She and Chrissy ended up out at Shorty’s until much later than she intended to be awake. The brightness of the fluorescent lights stung her eyes, and she squinted all the way to the back room. She knew today would be boring because Nicole wasn’t working, and wouldn’t be for the next several days. Waverly wasn’t sure what happened between Shae and Nicole, she messaged Nicole to tell her goodnight, but never got a response.  
  
When she entered the money office Willa was standing there counting out several drawers, preparing for the cashiers that were coming in. Waverly greeted her and asked if she could take one of the drawers she’d already prepared.  
  
“Where did you go last night?” Willa didn’t even look up from what she was doing.  
  
“I took a drive out to Momma’s garden to watch the sunset.”  
  
“Waverly, I know we haven’t always been particularly close, but I’m here if you ever need to talk.” Willa looked up at her with concern. “Or, even Wynonna. Though I have no idea why you’d choose her over me.”  
  
“Rude.” Wynonna was leaning in the doorway behind them. “I’m a fantastic listener.”  
  
Willa and Waverly shared a look of understanding that Wynonna was not a fantastic listener, while Wynonna faked an offended look. The three of them burst into laughter before Waverly grabbed one of the counted out drawers and went to go set up her register. She took in the quiet of the early morning. At this hour the store was never really busy, so she had to find other ways to spend her time. She wandered around the closed registers looking for any items that may have been left behind and collected them all to bring to customer service. The longer she worked in the silence the worse she felt about the night before. She spent the next couple hours checking her phone for a response from Nicole, but was only disappointed when one never came.  
  
Waverly clocked out for her lunch break and just wanted to get out of the store. She grabbed a few items to eat, paid and took off. Though when she left she wasn’t sure where she was going, she found herself parked at the same retention pond she’d been to recently. It wasn’t as nice there without Nicole, but it was quiet and she wasn’t at Clootie’s. She took out her phone and messaged Nicole apologizing for the night before, and asking her if they could talk when she got a chance.  
  
The rest of the shift was busy, which helped pass the time. She also got to see Dolls tackle a man to the ground as he attempted to steal a laptop, or tablet, she couldn’t tell. Nedley showed up, and of course was upset with Dolls for tackling the guy to the ground. Anyone working in asset protection had been trained to not engage. They were supposed to try and prevent theft in a non-confrontational way, and call the police if the need arose. Waverly couldn’t see Dolls just letting someone leave with an expensive item though, and watching Sheriff Nedley scold a man that was about a foot taller than him was entertaining.  
  
When it was finally time to leave, Waverly couldn’t get out fast enough. Her locker swung open and she was about to throw her vest inside when she saw a plain white envelope. Thinking it may be a card from Nicole she ripped it open excitedly, but her heart began beater faster when she saw the contents. She slowly removed the pictures from the envelope. The first one was of Nicole setting up trail cams in the woods, followed by a picture of their tent. The last two pictures in the pile were of them kissing on their camping trip, with a note attached that said she must be confused about who she is.


	16. Ultimatum

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Waverly deals with the aftermath of Tucker's surprise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really appreciate all the comments! I promise I read them! Thank you all for the continued support. Sorry the posting has slowed down a little, but I will definitely keep updating.

Waverly stared at the pictures in her hand, she knew without a doubt it was Tucker who put them there. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and took pictures of the package to send to Nicole. As she was typing out the text she sensed a presence near her.  
  
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” Tucker reached out and grabbed her phone, deleting the text and pictures.  
  
“Tucker, what the hell is this?” She held the pictures up to him.  
  
“What are you doing with her Waverly? You know this isn’t you.” Tucker took a step toward her. “You’re confused, she’s a predator and you’re her prey.”  
  
Waverly looked around for anyone to help, but shift change was over and everyone was out on the floor working. The only associates in the back room were unloading a shipment, but they were down a hallway and around a corner. She looked up and saw the malicious sneer on Tucker’s face.  
  
“Now, if you want Nicole to stay safe, you’ll do as I say.”  
  
“What? What did you do to Nicole?”  
  
“Nothing.” He paused. “Yet.”  
  
“What do you want?” She asked, trying to stand her ground.  
  
“That depends, what is it you want, Waverly?”  
  
“I want you to leave Nicole out of this, and I want you to leave me alone. What I do with my life is not your business.” She reached for her phone, but he pulled it away before she could grab it.  
  
“Well, I want you to break off whatever you thought you had with her.”  
  
“And if I don’t?”  
  
“I pin the missing electronics on her.” He leaned closer. “And there’s a lot, it’s definite jail time for whoever stole it.”  
  
Before Waverly could reply, Tucker handed her phone back and walked away. She stood still, completely stunned. Unsure what to do, she checked to see if Nicole had messaged her back, but there was still no response. After waiting several more minutes, to make sure Tucker had really left, she drove straight home.  
  
…  
  
Waverly heard noises on the other side of the door she’d just pounded on. Chrissy answered with a shocked look on her face.  
  
“Waverly? What’s wrong?” Chrissy asked. “I thought you were going to break my door down.”  
  
“I just don’t want to be alone. Can I come in?”  
  
“Sure, I’ll make some tea.”  
  
Waverly curled up on Chrissy’s couch and wrapped herself in a blanket. She breathed slowly to calm herself before Chirssy came back. The pictures were evidence that she’d been followed, but she needed to know how to prove it was Tucker. For tonight though, she just didn’t want to be alone in her apartment.  
  
“Ok, talk to me.” Chrissy set the tea down and sat on the other end of the couch.  
  
“Tucker is following me, again.” Waverly sipped her hot tea carefully.  
  
“What does he want now? He already broke you and Champ up.” Chrissy sighed.  
  
“I’ve been seeing someone, he took pictures of us, and he’s using them to blackmail me.”  
  
“Wait, you’re seeing someone? Who’s the lucky guy?” Chrissy stared at Waverly with anticipation for a moment. “Right, sorry. Not the important part.”  
  
“He wants me to end things between us.” Part of Waverly really wanted to tell Chrissy about Nicole, but Tucker’s words kept replaying in her head, and Chrissy herself just assumed she was seeing a guy. She was afraid others, including her best friend, would feel the same as Tucker.  
  
“Or what?”  
  
“Or he would get them in trouble for stealing from Clootie’s.”  
  
“Well, did he steal from Clootie’s?”  
  
“Tucker? It wouldn’t surprise me.”  
  
“No, the guy you’re mysteriously seeing.”  
  
“Oh, no.”  
  
Waverly wrapped the blanket around herself tighter and asked Chrissy if she could stay the night. She waited until Chrissy went to bed before taking out her phone and saw she still had no messages from Nicole. Hesitantly she reached for the envelope she had shoved into her bag earlier and took out the photos Tucker had taken. Now she was unsure what to do, she wanted to protect Nicole, but she didn’t want to hurt her either.  
  
…  
  
Waverly could feel her heart rate rising the closer she walked to the door of Clootie’s. She had spent all day trying to focus on her schoolwork, but to no avail. All of her thoughts kept returning to Nicole, how she hadn’t responded to her texts. She knew leaving the barn the other night was a mistake, she knew Nicole would be upset about it, but compared to the surprise Tucker had sprung on her, it was the least of her worries. All she needed to do was get Nicole to talk to her again. A heavy sigh escaped her as the doors opened and she walked through into the last place she wanted to be right now. Despite that though, she settled in for her shift.  
  
“Miss Waverly, you seem.” Doc paused for a moment. “Distracted.”  
  
“I’m sorry Doc.” Waverly hadn’t realized she spaced out standing at her register.  
  
“No need to apologize. Just checking to see that everything is alright.” The last part of his sentence sounded more like question, and he looked at Waverly inquisitively.  
  
“Honestly Doc, no.” She looked up at him, and it looked like he was frowning, though it was hard to tell with his mustache.  
  
“Anything I can do to help?”  
  
“Unfortunately, I don’t think so.”  
  
“Do let me know if that changes.” He adjusted his hat before taking his bag and wishing Waverly well.  
  
As Doc walked away Waverly saw Tucker watching her from the produce department. She wasn’t sure how long he’d been there, but he was staring at her suspiciously. He started walking toward her, and she quickly averted her gaze and hoped he would change his course of direction. When she looked up a minute later he was only a few registers away, but stopped abruptly and quickly turned back. Waverly wasn’t sure what startled him, but she was glad he didn’t come over to her.  
  
“Is Tucker bothering you again?”  
She turned around to see Willa and Robert standing behind her.  
  
“He’s always bothering me.” Waverly tried to sound playful in her answer, but based on Robert’s face, she failed.  
  
“Waverly, do you want me to talk to him? Threaten him, maybe?” Despite his joking tone, she knew he would do it if she asked him to.  
  
“Or maybe I’ll just fire him, for stalking another employee.” Willa said.  
  
“I don’t think that’s needed. Maybe we can be scheduled on different shifts?” Waverly suggested. She didn’t want to make him any more angry than he already was. All she wanted was to protect Nicole.  
  
“I’ll look into that for you, if you think that will help.”  
  
“It would definitely help.”  
  
Willa nodded before grabbing Robert’s hand to continue heading wherever they were going before.  
  
“Let me know if there’s anything I can do.” Robert called over his shoulder.  
  
Waverly waved them goodbye and settled back into her work. The store was busy, especially for a weeknight, but she didn’t mind. It helped keep her mind off of her worries, until her worries showed up behind her.  
  
“You didn’t say anything to Willa did you?” Tucker asked. “That would be a very bad idea. I have copies of those photos, and everything I need to take that woman down.”  
  
“I didn’t say anything to anyone.” Waverly turned to face him and crossed her arms across her chest. She was growing tired of his games, but she knew it was a fine balance between letting him know that, and pushing him over the edge to do something awful. “Can you please leave? I’m working.”  
  
“You should really consider being nicer to me, you know.”  
  
“And why exactly should I do that?”  
  
“Suit yourself.” He waved his hand in the air dismissively. “Have you called it off with the red head yet? Because if you don’t do it soon, you’ll be the reason she goes to prison.”  
  
“Don’t.” Waverly sounded more pleading than she intended. “I haven’t spoken to her. Not that it’s any of your business, but she won’t return my texts, or calls.”  
  
“Not too pleased with you walking out on her while she argued with Shae, was she?” He laughed.  
  
“What? How do you know about that?”  
  
“Waverly, come on.” He tilted his head like he was waiting for her to clue in. “You told me about it.”  
  
“I did not!” Waverly retorted. She wasn’t sure what he was playing at, but she was getting tired of it.  
  
“You called my house phone and left a message.” He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. “Here I recorded it.”  
  
He held the phone out and Waverly could hear herself talking about how upset she was that Shae interrupted them in the barn, and that Nicole just let her have her way about being her partner for game night. She remembered ranting to herself angrily during her drive home that night, but she was certain she didn’t call anyone. The only explanation is that her phone accidentally dialed the Gardner’s home phone, but had no idea why Tucker would record it.  
  
“See how unhappy she makes you? She’s only playing games with you, and clearly has something going on with Shae. Whoever she is.”  
  
“That’s not true.” Waverly couldn’t listen to anymore. “You need to go, I have work to do.”  
  
“Once you call it off, you and I can pick up where we left off.”  
  
Waverly heard someone behind her clear their throat. She turned to see a customer was waiting for her to ring up their items, and apologized for the wait. By the time she turned back around Tucker was gone.  
  
…  
  
Waverly was curled up on her couch trying desperately to focus on her senior thesis. She had fallen so far behind because of all this mess with Tucker. Even worse, there was still no word from Nicole, so she stopped trying. The last thing she wanted to do was bother her too much, or appear needy. Her mind was still on high alert from her encounter earlier that day, she’d tried to calm them with herbal tea and other subjects to focus on, but it was seeming to be impossible. She slammed her book closed in frustration when someone knocked on her door. A display of familiar red hair appeared through the peephole.  
  
“Hi!” Waverly flung the door open a little too excitedly, but she didn’t even care.  
  
“Hey Waves.” Nicole gave her a small smile, not the kind she’d gotten used to, where her whole face lights up and her dimples show prominently in her cheeks. “Can I come in? We should talk.”  
  
“Of course.”  
  
They settled on either end of the couch and sat facing each other in silence. Waverly wasn’t sure if she should say something, or wait for Nicole to speak first. She decided she should apologize for her behavior, but when she opened her mouth to speak, she ended up offering Nicole tea instead. In return Nicole simply nodded without a word. Waverly got up and headed to the kitchen to put the water on, and as she stood at the stove waiting for it to boil, she felt the warmth of Nicole’s arms wrap around her waist.  
  
“I’m sorry I’ve been MIA.” Nicole leaned down to rest her chin on Waverly’s shoulder and placed a kiss on her cheek.  
  
“And I’m sorry for what I did the other night, leaving you in the barn like that.” She covered Nicole’s hands with hers and took in the feeling of comfort Nicole always seemed to provide.  
  
“Oh, I’m not sure just an apology will be enough to make up for that.” Nicole joked.  
  
“No? And what did you have in mind?” Waverly turned and lifted herself up on her toes to reach Nicole’s lips with her own.  
  
“Oh, well, that’s definitely a good start.”  
  
The tea kettle whistled on the stove, and Nicole reached out to turn the burner off, without breaking their kiss. Waverly could feel herself getting wrapped up in Nicole, but she knew they needed to talk, even though that was the last thing she wanted to do.  
  
“Mm. Nicole, wait.” Somehow Waverly managed to pull herself away, only to be met with Nicole pouting. “We should really talk first.”  
  
“No, you’re right.”  
  
Waverly was back on the couch waiting for Nicole to finish making herself tea. She had no idea how to tell Nicole about what happened with Tucker, or what she was going to do about it. The couch dipping down on the other end brought her attention to Nicole, who was now sat across from her again.  
  
“I told Shae about us.” Nicole started.  
  
“You did?”  
  
“I had to, I’m sorry.”  
  
“No, don’t be sorry. Was, I mean, is she okay?” Waverly didn’t care for Shae, but that didn’t mean she liked to see other people hurting.  
  
“It was the only way for her to understand that her and I would not be together.” Nicole stared at her lap for a moment. “She was hurt, but she wasn’t taking no for an answer this weekend.”  
  
Waverly didn’t know what to say, she felt bad that Nicole had a hard weekend out in the woods with Shae. She couldn’t bring herself to make anything more complicated for her by adding Tucker into the conversation, though she thought maybe if they got some rest, she would feel better about telling Nicole the next day.  
  
“It sounds like you had a tough weekend. You know what could make it better?” Waverly grabbed Nicole’s hand and pulled her up off the couch. “Trying out that comfortable bed I mentioned last time you were here.”


	17. Wynonna: The Steel Trap

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Waverly confides in Wynonna after having a rough start to her day.

Waverly kissed Nicole’s forehead before sneaking out of her apartment. It had taken everything she had to leave the warmth of her bed that morning, but she had classes to attend. She pulled into the student lot and parked, but didn’t really remember the drive to school, she was distracted and knew it was going to be a long day. Reluctantly she grabbed her bag and started her walk across campus, regretting not getting caffeine before hand.  
  
A while later the aroma of fresh coffee, and the warmth of the cup between her hands was a welcome comfort. She had settled herself into the corner of the shop, a heavy text book lay open across most of the small table in front of her, and she was struggling to concentrate. She knew her next class would be boring, and tedious, so she decided to review some of the material beforehand. By now it felt like she had read the same paragraph several times, and still hadn’t retained the information. She shook her head in an attempt to clear her mind before starting the paragraph over, again.  
  
Before long the words on the page disappeared and thoughts of her night with Nicole flooded her mind. All the small things that had been so different than anything she had been used to before. Waverly started to imagine what it would be like to really be with her. To feel Nicole’s hands on her bare skin, and her soft lips exploring her body. She was completely lost in her own head when she suddenly felt extreme heat all over her thighs. The coffee had fallen into her lap, and all over her text book. She jumped up to grab napkins, awkwardly trying to avoid everyone staring at her.  
  
After finally getting all of the coffee she’d spilled, she shoved her book into her bag and left as quickly as possible. Now she had to endure an already dreadful class covered in coffee and freezing cold.  
  
…  
  
Waverly threw herself through the door to her apartment, she had half an hour to shower and get to Clootie’s before her shift started. She walked into her bedroom and started getting together a new outfit, when a sticky note placed on the mirror caught her attention. From across the room she could see neat handwriting and a smiley face on the bottom, she tried to ignore it because she really didn’t have time, but curiosity got the better of her.  
  
‘Thanks for letting me sleep in. Maybe next time neither of us will have anywhere to go.’  
  
Upon further inspection Waverly realized the smiley face was winking, and underneath it was signed ‘-N.’ She almost got lost in a daydream again, but forced herself into the shower before she’d be late for work.  
  
…  
  
The tires of the Jeep screeched as Waverly flew into her usual parking spot, coming to a halt. A few customers loading their cars nearby looked in her direction, but she didn’t have time to care. She flung the door open and spilled out onto the pavement, luckily landing on her feet, and took off running toward the store. She ran past Tucker, who tried to stop her on his way out, but she ignored him and kept going. Though seeing that he was leaving was a relief, and eased her anxiety about being at work.  
  
Once she’d clocked in and set up her register for the night, she glanced toward the produce department, like she always did. She didn’t see Nicole anywhere, though she thought they were both scheduled that evening.  
  
“Looking for someone?” Wynonna walked up and stood beside her.  
  
“No one in particular.”  
  
“Nice try.” Wynonna joked. “How are things going with Red anyway?”  
  
“Actually Wynonna, I may need your help with something.”  
  
Waverly knew telling Wynonna about the situation with Tucker would definitely piss him off, but she needed to handle it, and keep Nicole safe from his threats. She trusted her sister would find a way to obtain proof that Tucker stole all the electronics. That, along with the pictures he’d left in Waverly’s locker, should be enough to deal with the problem.  
  
“I have to show you something, but you have to promise me you won’t say anything to anyone, especially Nicole.”  
  
“Come on Babygirl, I’m a steel trap!” Wynonna joked. “Really though, I promise. Your secret will be safe with me.”  
  
Waverly gestured for Wynonna to follow her to the back room. They arrived at her locker, and Wynonna was giving her a puzzled look. Waverly nervously entered the combination and swung the door open. She grabbed her backpack before shutting the locker and turning to her sister.  
  
“Can we go to the office?” Waverly pointed to the open door at the end of the hallway.  
  
“Yeah, of course.”  
  
They walked into the small space and sat down across from one another. Waverly stared at her lap and let out a sigh. She wasn’t sure if this was the right course of action, but she didn’t know who else to turn to. She tried to enlist Chrissy for help until she had gotten distracted about Waverly seeing someone new. She would most likely have just gone to her father, and without the proof, Tucker would probably talk his way out of it anyway.  
  
“I think it was Tucker who stole all those electronics.” Waverly finally said through shaky breath.  
  
“Well, we should tell Willa and Dolls.” Wynonna reached for her walkie, but Waverly reached out and stopped her.  
  
“No, we can’t, not yet.” She said, shaking her head. “I have to show you something first.”  
  
Waverly reached into her backpack and removed the envelope containing the pictures. She handed it to Wynonna and waited for her to open it.  
  
“I found this in my locker at the end of shift not long ago. Tucker put them there, he’s been following me again.” She paused for a moment to let Wynonna get through the remainder of the photos. “He told me if I didn’t end things with her, he would pin the missing electronics on her and make sure she went to jail.”  
  
“That little shit.” Wynonna said through gritted teeth. “What do you need me to do?”  
  
“We need proof that he stole the electronics, and that he’s been following me around. Then we can go to the police.”  
  
“You don’t think these pictures are proof enough?” Wynonna waved the photos in the air.  
  
“No, I don’t. Sheriff Nedley may see through him, but you know he’s got the rest of this town wrapped around his fingers. His parents being influential and all that.” Waverly rolled her eyes.  
  
“What a weasel. You’re right though, the judge would probably listen to his sob story for about thirty seconds before letting him walk free.”  
  
They sat in silence for a minute, Wynonna appeared to be deep in thought. Waverly felt a million times lighter not carrying this burden alone anymore. Even if Wynonna couldn’t help her, just knowing someone else knew what Tucker was up to was relief enough.  
  
“Here’s the deal Babygirl.” Wynonna broke the silence. “If I’m going to do this, I’ll need to know everything he’s done so far. And I really think Dolls could help.”  
  
“Wy, I just don’t think getting more people in on this is a good idea.”  
  
“You need proof, and I understand you not wanting him to find out about what we’re up to.” She paused a moment. “You didn’t hear this from me, but Dolls isn’t exactly just here to work asset protection.”  
  
“What do you mean?” Waverly noticed Wynonna was looking to the side, a tell tale sign she wasn’t supposed to be sharing this information. “Wy, what are you talking about?”  
  
“Ok, fine. Nedley hired him to track down the remaining three men responsible for Daddy’s death. Him working here is just a cover.”  
  
“Oh, wow. I can’t believe Nedley is actually still searching for them after all these years.”  
  
“He got a lead not too long ago, but you know his departments resources are thin, so he hired outside help.”  
  
“How can the department afford outside help when they can barely pay their current officers?”  
  
Wynonna sat in silence and stared at Waverly, a look of slight guilt on her face. Waverly really hoped Nedley didn’t do what she thought he had.  
  
“Wynonna?”  
  
“He’s paying with his own money, with help from Willa and I.”  
  
“What? Why wasn’t I told? Or asked to help?”  
  
“Waves, you’re in your final year of college. We wanted you to focus on that, and save money, so you can get out of here like you’ve always dreamed about.”  
  
Waverly wasn’t sure if she should be upset or appreciate that her sisters didn’t want to burden her with all of this. She just wished she’d been let in on the plans, even if they wouldn’t let her help financially.  
  
“Fine.” Waverly placed her arms across her chest, but relaxed into the chair. She wasn’t really mad at them, and if Nedley thought Dolls was good enough to hire, maybe he could help with the Tucker situation as well. “I should get back to my register before my manager notices. I won’t say anything to Willa about this, even though I’m mad at both of you. I’ll come by the homestead later to fill you in on everything with Tucker.”  
  
…  
  
A few hours later Waverly found herself bored, just standing at her register. The store had been quiet, which was typical for a weeknight. She heard the faint sound of the belt turning on, and out of the corner of her eye saw a red object coming toward her. A single, slightly wilted flower was coming toward her and stopped when it reached the sensor. She looked to the other end but no one was there, no one was behind her, and she didn’t see anyone walking away in any direction.  
  
Wrapped around the stem was a small card with familiar writing on it. ‘Meet me outside in 10.’ No one had signed the card, but she recognized it was the same hand writing as the sticky note left on her mirror. She looked at the time and realized her shift ended in five minutes, and quickly started packing up. The night manager seemed startled when she busted into the cash room to count out and balance her drawer. She apologized for it several times before making a quick exit and rushing to the back room to clock out and get her jacket.  
  
The second set of double doors opened exposing her to the cold night air, and she searched the parking lot for a certain tall red head near a specific truck. She spotted the truck in it’s usual area of the lot. Nicole was leaning against the drivers side door, illuminated from above by the light she’d parked under. Waverly checked the area for another familiar vehicle before making her way over to Nicole, relieved she didn’t see Tucker’s car anywhere in sight.  
  
“Wanna take a ride?” Nicole asked before Waverly reached her.  
  
“Sure!”  
  
Nicole walked around to the passenger side, opened the door and helped Waverly into the truck, like she always did.  
  
“I’m sorry I didn’t come find you for break earlier.” Nicole climbed into the drivers seat and started the engine.  
  
“Oh, that’s ok. Busy night?”  
  
“Something like that.” Nicole sounded irritated. “The morning crew didn’t finish breaking down the pallets and left unworked carts all over the cooler. I was the only one in produce tonight, so I didn’t even really get to take a break.”  
  
“Those shit tickets.” Waverly reached out and grabbed Nicole’s hand.  
  
Nicole let out a genuine laugh, and Waverly knew it was the kind followed by a smile that showed her dimples, even if she couldn’t see it in the dark.  
  
“So, where are we going anyway?” Waverly finally asked.  
  
“It’s a surprise.” Nicole squeezed Waverly’s hand a little before breaking them apart to turn on the radio. “A spot I found recently.”  
  
Nicole intertwined their fingers once again and turned back to face the road ahead of her. Waverly took in the quiet of the evening, and surprisingly didn’t feel compelled to fill the silence. She’d always felt uneasy when her and Champ sat without speaking. The truck made a right hand turn off the main road, onto a dirt path with a steep incline. It was narrow and bumpy with sharp curves, and Waverly felt like they were ascending forever, until it evened out again and Nicole finally brought it to park. Waverly watched her grab several blankets from the back before getting out. She heard the thud of the tailgate falling open and watched in the rearview mirror as Nicole set up the bed of the truck.  
  
“Ready?” Nicole had opened the passenger door and put her hand out for Waverly to take.  
  
They climbed up into the back and got settled. In front of her she could see for miles, overlooking downtown, but high enough that the stars shone brightly before them in the pitch black sky. For a long time Waverly had been looking at the sky from below the street lamps, which left the stars looking dim. The last time she remembered seeing them this brightly was at the homestead, laying in the grass with Wynonna. They’d wait for a shooting star so they could make a wish.  
  
“Do you like it?” Nicole asked.  
  
“It’s perfect.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a shit ticket, and I'm sorry for the wait on this upload. Adulting is hard.


	18. Geocaching

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Waverly wakes up in an unfamiliar place, and Nicole is acting strange.

Waverly was woken up by an alarm tone that wasn’t hers. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust, but when they did, she saw two green eyes staring back at her from the end of an unfamiliar bed. The giant ginger cat crept curiously toward her, she tried to remain as still as possible so not to startle it. She reached out and the cat sniffed her fingers before forcefully nudging it’s head into her hand. They got comfortable and the cat purred loudly next to her.  
  
“I see you’ve met CJ.” Nicole stood propped against the door frame to the bedroom. “And, if you haven’t guessed, this is my place.”  
  
“CJ?” Waverly eyeballed the cat next to her.  
  
“Her full name is Calamity Jane, CJ for short.”  
  
Waverly nodded in understanding as CJ jumped down off the bed and ran over to Nicole.   
  
“This probably sounds ridiculous, but I don’t remember coming here last night.”  
  
“You fell asleep. I was going to bring you home, but I didn’t want to wake you.” Nicole was nuzzling her face into CJ’s stomach, though CJ looked less than enthused about it. “When we got here you were like, half asleep still.”  
  
Waverly looked at the clock on the night stand, it was 7 am. She thought back to the night before, and vaguely remembered Nicole helping her into the house. Mostly she remembered being curled up looking at the stars.  
  
“I wasn’t sure if you had classes so I set an early alarm.”  
  
“No classes, but I should spend the day on schoolwork, I have some catching up to do.” Though she was getting more used to it, Waverly was still surprised by Nicole’s thoughtfulness. Even small things like setting an alarm just in case.  
  
“Do you work later? Your Jeep is still parked there, but I’m working, so we could just head in together, if you wanted.” There was a hint of nervousness in Nicole’s voice, though Waverly didn’t understand why.  
  
“As long as you don’t mind hanging around watching me read all day.” Waverly laughed.  
  
“Not at all. But… breakfast first? I made waffles.” Nicole grinned widely enough that her dimples shown prominently in her cheeks.  
  
…  
  
Nicole parked outside Waverly’s apartment and scanned the area before turning off the truck. Waverly wasn’t sure what had gotten into her, but she had been acting strange all morning. While they were eating breakfast she kept looking out the window, and checking her phone. On the drive over to Waverly’s place she had gotten a phone call that she answered, but just listened to whoever was on the other end, and then hung up without saying anything.  
  
“Is everything alright?” Waverly asked, hesitantly, not sure if she wanted the answer or not.  
  
“Of course, why wouldn’t it be?”  
  
Nicole smiled brightly at her and Waverly wondered if maybe she was reading too much into things. Maybe Nicole was just distracted with work. She did mention having to go over a lot of data they had collected, something about an important finding by Jeremy and Rosita. They got out of the truck and Waverly fished for her keys as they walked to her apartment door.  
  
“What’s this?” Nicole asked.  
  
Waverly looked up to see a white envelope taped to her door. Nothing was written on it, but she had a sinking feeling it was from Tucker. Waverly ripped it down and opened it to find a single piece of paper inside. She unfolded it and it appeared to be blank.  
  
“Time’s up.” Nicole said.  
  
“What?” Waverly flipped the paper over to see what Nicole was talking about.  
  
“What does that mean? Time’s up?”  
  
Waverly didn’t respond, but quickly opened the door and dragged Nicole in behind her. Knowing Tucker, he was probably outside somewhere spying on them. Nicole got comfortable on the couch while Waverly peered out of the windows, and now she felt like she was the one acting strange.  
  
Nicole had gotten up and walked over to the window Waverly was standing at. “Waves, what’s going on?” She glanced out the window in the direction Waverly was staring.  
  
“Nothing.” Waverly stifled a nervous laugh. “Probably just a prank.” She felt terrible for not just telling Nicole the truth, but she was sure Wynonna was already in the process of finding the proof she’d asked her, and she hoped they could handle it without her having to involve Nicole.  
  
“You think this note was left as a prank?” It was clear by her tone that Nicole wasn’t buying the story.  
  
“No, I don’t.” Waverly sat down on the couch and thought about what to say next.  
  
She proceeded to tell Nicole everything that had transpired between her and Tucker, showed her the pictures he’d taken of them in the woods, and tried to explain that she was only trying to keep Nicole safe by not involving her. Nicole’s expression was unreadable, but Waverly sensed she was upset. She tried to reassure her that Wynonna was helping her handle the situation, but Nicole was more interested in someone she was typing to on her phone, which rang shortly after.  
  
“What do you want me to do?” Nicole finally asked, once the muffled voice on the other end had stopped talking.  
  
After a few minutes she finally hung up and they sat in silence on the couch. Waverly leaned her head on Nicole’s shoulder and allowed herself to relax. She closed her eyes and tried to take in this moment, she was afraid it would be one of her last before Tucker made his next move. Waverly wasn’t really sure how he planned to blame the stolen goods on her, but he was smarter than people gave him credit for. If he’d threatened to do it, he already had a plan. A knock at the door caused Waverly to jump, but Nicole seemed unfazed.  
  
“I have to go take care of something, but Rosita is here, to keep you company, you shouldn’t be alone.” Nicole leaned forward and kissed Waverly on the forehead. “I promise I’ll be back before our shift.”  
  
Nicole grabbed her keys and opened the door to Rosita waiting on the other side. She looked back and gave Waverly a small smile before slipping out the door. Rosita let herself in and sat down.  
  
…  
  
Waverly wasn’t sure how much time had passed since Nicole left, but the silence had become overwhelming. She’d tried focusing on the schoolwork she had planned to get done that day, but with everything going on, and Nicole acting so mysterious, she couldn’t concentrate.  
  
“Do you know where Nicole went?” Waverly finally asked, breaking the tension.  
  
“I do.” Rosita answered without even looking at her.  
  
“And?” Waverly stared at Rosita waiting for a response, but got none. “Can you tell me where she went?”  
  
“I can’t.” Rosita finally turned to face Waverly. “It’s not my place. I’m sorry.”  
  
Waverly was a little annoyed, but she couldn’t force Rosita to tell her anything. “What exactly did you mean when you told me to be sure what I wanted before I started anything with her?”  
  
“I’ve known Nicole for a long time.” Rosita paused, looking unsure if she should say what she wanted next. “She has this tendency to develop feelings for women who will never reciprocate them. Or if that isn’t the issue, her career scares them off.”  
  
“How can her being a conservationist scare someone off?”  
  
“What?” Rosita seemed confused by Waverly’s question. “Oh, it’s a lot of traveling.”  
  
“I can imagine.” Waverly agreed, pretending she hadn’t noticed Rosita’s initial reaction. “Did you ever figure out what happened with that moss you and Jeremy found?”  
  
“The moss? It was fake.” Rosita shrugged. “Jeremy and I planned to test it, and had we not been in a rush when we took samples we’d have noticed it was made from synthetic materials.”  
  
“But who would put fake moss on the trees?”  
  
“I’m not sure, it was covering man made holes, but there was nothing in any of them.”  
  
“Maybe an old geocaching site.” Waverly remembered that Champ used to drag her around searching on his GPS for hidden items, though there weren’t very many in this area. She never recalled going anywhere near the Pine Barrens.  
  
“Or a great spot for hiding cameras and conducting illegal exchanges.” Rosita looked like she’d said something she wasn’t supposed to. “Though an outdated geocaching site makes sense as well.”  
  
Waverly followed Rosita’s gaze to the pictures she’d shown Nicole earlier, they were spread out on the coffee table. She eyed them, then Rosita, and back to the pictures. The book sitting in lap fell open on the floor as she stood up to grab the photos and leave the room.  
  
“I’ve already seen them.” Rosita called after her. “They’ve been staring at me this entire time. I’m assuming Nicole knows about them?”  
  
“I showed her this morning.” Waverly sat back down, but left her book splayed below her feet.  
  
“Don’t worry about it.” Rosita placed a hand on her knee. “This will all get taken care of.”  
  
Before Waverly could ask what she meant a quick knock and the door opening indicated Nicole had returned.   
  
…  
  
By the time Nicole had gotten back to Waverly’s they had to run out the door to make it to work on time. When she had woken up that morning she anticipated a quiet day at home studying, followed by a hot shower, and had she been able to play her cards right, she may have been able to convince Nicole to join her. Instead she had rushed out the door with one boot on and thrown herself into the passenger seat just in time for Nicole to start backing out of her parking spot.  They didn’t speak on the ride over, and Rosita’s last words replayed in her head. Rosita knew more than she’d let on, and Waverly didn’t know who she could trust anymore.  
  
Surprisingly Waverly felt calm once she’d settled into work for the evening. The store was busy enough to keep her mind off all her suspicions, but not so busy it was stressful, and most of the customers didn’t have a lot of items. When she didn’t have anyone in line, she took the opportunity to start a text to Nicole, but someone cleared their throat to get her attention.  
  
“Oh, hey Beth.” Waverly felt uneasy about the way Beth was looking around the store.  
  
“Waverly.” She leaned in closely and kept her voice low. “I have to talk to you.”  
  
“I could take my break, if it’s urgent.”  
  
Beth nodded in response, and checked around one more time before leading them outside.  
“Want to sit in the Jeep? It’s cold out here.” Waverly wrapped her arms around herself, but Beth simply shook her head and made her way over to her own vehicle, Waverly in tow. “Ok, what’s going on?” She asked once the doors to the car had closed.  
  
“I know you try to avoid my brother like the plague, but have you seen Tucker lately?” Beth looked genuinely worried. “Mercedes and I haven’t heard from him, and we found some disturbing stuff in his room when we went to look for him.”  
  
“No, I haven’t seen him recently.” Though she felt bad that Beth was worried, she was not sad she hadn’t seen Tucker. “What did you find in his room?”  
  
“Waverly, I’m so sorry. If we had known his stalking had gotten so bad, we would have stepped in.” Beth sighed and stared out across the parking lot.  
  
“Beth, you had no way of knowing. It’s my fault. I thought I could handle him myself.” Waverly knew she’d handled this all wrong. “It only started getting bad once Nicole and I started seeing each other.”  
  
“Yeah, how’s that going? She looks worried about you.” Beth nodded to where Nicole was standing just outside the doorway to the store.  
  
“Honestly, I don’t know. She’s been acting weird all day.”  
  
“Maybe you should go talk to her.” Beth reached across the car and pulled Waverly into a hug. “If you hear from my brother, please call me, or Mercedes. I know he’s not your favorite person, but this is extreme, even for him.”


	19. Do Not Disturb

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Waverly takes some much needed time to herself.

**Waverly couldn’t stop thinking about what Beth said, and she hadn’t seen Tucker since running past him several days prior. She closed her eyes and tried to recall anything about her last encounter with him. He had looked defeated, and though she couldn’t remember exactly what he had said to her, there was a sound of desperation in his voice that she’d never heard before.**  
  
“What was that about?” Nicole asked, though there was no hint of jealousy behind the question. She sounded calm and her gaze followed Beth’s car suspiciously as it pulled out of the parking lot.  
  
“Beth wanted to know if I had seen Tucker.” Waverly noticed a shift in Nicole’s demeanor at the mention of his name. “I told her I hadn’t, but I probably should have told her about the note he left on the door.”  
  
“No, you shouldn’t tell her anything.” Nicole now sounded angry. “What if she’s working with him?”  
  
“If she were working with him, why would she tell me about the stuff she and Mercedes found in his room?”  
  
“What stuff?”  
  
Waverly realized Beth hadn’t actually told her exactly what they had found. “Well, she didn’t really specify, just that what they found was disturbing.” Waverly managed to stutter out.  
  
Nicole made a phone call, but walked away before Waverly could hear any part of the conversation. She was feeling uneasy, and the possible reasons behind Nicole’s odd behavior were starting to concern her. Nicole had tried to suggest that Beth may be working with Tucker, but Waverly was starting to think possibly Nicole had something to do with it all. Feeling frustrated she left Nicole outside on her phone and walked back to her register. By now she didn’t really care if Nicole noticed or not.  
  
…  
  
By the end of her shift Waverly just wanted to go home and focus on school work. It was the only thing that still made sense to her right now. She heard Nicole call out to her as she made her way across the parking lot, but she didn’t even turn around. Once in the sanctuary of her Jeep she welcomed the hum of the engine and the white noise it provided, successfully drowning out the world.  
  
The books she’d meant to read earlier were still piled on the coffee table, and the pictures were scattered next to them. Part of her wondered if Tucker was really the one who had left that note on the door earlier. She’d already told herself she wouldn’t think about it anymore that night, and shoved everything into a drawer in her desk so she didn’t have to look at it.  
  
The aroma and warmth of her tea did little to ease the ache she was feeling deep down, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t bring herself to care about her studies. She thought about texting Nicole to ask her directly why she’d been acting like she had all day, but she was afraid of the answer. What if Nicole really wasn’t what she thought? Rosita seemed confused when Waverly mentioned Nicole’s job earlier, almost like that wasn’t truly what Nicole did for a living. The more she thought about it, the more she realized she didn’t know much about any of them, aside from their supposed careers. Maybe the whole team was actually up to no good and it was only a matter of time before they made their move.  
  
A knock at at the door interrupted Waverly from the board she had been building. She’d spent the last couple hours trying to piece it all together. The knock came again, louder this time, after Waverly had tried to ignore it at first. She hesitated again, but slowly made her way to the door. The peep hole she peered through revealed that Chrissy was the one waiting on the other side. Reluctantly she unlocked it to let her friend in.  
  
“You’re dating Nicole?” Chrissy practically yelled as she rushed through the door.  
  
“What?” Waverly really hoped she hadn’t heard her friend correctly.  
  
“Why wouldn’t you tell me that you’re dating Nicole?” Chrissy plopped down on the couch and threw her shoes off, making herself comfortable.  
  
“Who told you that?”  
  
“Nicole, of course. Her and Wynona are at Shorty’s.”  
  
“Of course they are.” Waverly rubbed her temples in an attempt to ward off the inevitable headache.  
  
“So, are you?”  
  
Waverly sighed, she figured there was no use in not just telling Chrissy the truth. “Yes, I am.”  
  
“Why didn’t you just tell me before?”  
  
“I wasn’t sure how you’d feel about it.” Waverly looked to her best friend, who only looked confused. “I didn’t know how you’d feel about me dating a woman.”  
  
“Waves, I’m just happy you’re not with Champ anymore. We all knew you could do better. So Nicole is the one Tucker wanted you to call it off with?”  
  
Waverly nodded in response, she was happy her friend wasn’t upset about her dating Nicole, but that didn’t make anything less confusing.  
  
“What’s wrong?” Chrissy asked. “And don’t lie, I can tell when you’re upset.”  
  
“Nicole was acting strange all day, and now she’s off with Wynona getting drunk, and Beth asked me if I’ve seen Tucker.” Waverly paused to take a breath. “Which I haven’t but the last time I did he seemed off somehow. Even more desperate for my attention than normal and I blew him off.”  
  
“Woah.” Chrissy interrupted. “He was stalking you and actively trying to ruin your new relationship, after he ruined your previous one.”  
  
“I know, but Beth seemed genuinely concerned about him.” Waverly wasn’t really sure why she cared, Chrissy was right. He hadn’t given her much reason to care about what happened to him. “If you happen to see him, can you just let Beth or Mercedes know?”  
  
Chrissy agreed before getting up and putting her shoes back on, saying something about needing to get up early and wanting to call it a night. Though Waverly typically loved the company, she was glad Chrissy was heading out. She really just wanted some time alone. After finally getting some school work done she settled into bed without bothering to set an alarm, and switched her phone to do not disturb for good measure. She just wanted to try and sleep.  
  
The following morning Waverly woke up and looked at the clock on her night stand. It was already 10 AM, she was glad she didn’t have work or classes that day. Part of her wanted to check her phone and make sure she hadn’t gotten any calls from the Sheriff’s office, but a bigger part of her thought everyone else could fend for themselves for a day. She grabbed a book off her bookshelf and settled back into her bed. Today she wasn’t even going to study, she was just going to take care of herself.  
  
…  
  
Her relaxing day off had gone better than she anticipated and she was feeling energized when she walked into Clootie’s for her next shift. Though she had some missed calls and unanswered texts she knew Wynonna would most likely bother her about, she didn’t care. The store seemed pretty busy for a weeknight, though she didn’t mind, it would make the time go by faster.  
  
Waverly went straight to the cash office to get a drawer for her register. Inside Willa was sitting at the desk finishing up the drawers from the previous shift.  
  
“Where have you been?” Willa didn’t even turn around to look at her younger sister.  
  
“What do you mean?” Though it came out more defensive than she wanted, Waverly was determined to imply that she didn’t need to explain her whereabouts.  
  
“Wynonna said she was trying to get a hold of you all day yesterday.”  
  
“I was at home.”  
  
Willa finally turned around in her chair and shot her a disbelieving look.  
  
“Really, I was home. I needed some time to myself.” Waverly crossed her arms and leaned on one foot, anyone who knew her well would know this was her stance when she was getting mad. “Is wanting alone time a crime now?” She asked when Willa’s facial expression remained unchanged.  
  
“No, I suppose not.” Willa turned back to her work. “Wynonna also said you were ignoring Nicole’s messages. I had the distinct pleasure of picking up two very intoxicated idiots from the bar.”  
  
“Last night?” Waverly rolled her eyes when Willa nodded. She expected this type of stuff from Wynonna, but never got the impression Nicole would get sloppy drunk. “At least they didn’t end up in the drunk tank.”  
  
“That’s only because I walked into the bar right before Nedley. I talked him into letting me take them home.” Willa shook her head. “They started a fight with some locals. I should say Wynonna started a fight.”  
  
Waverly sat down in the vacant seat next to Willa. The two of them had never been particularly close, she suspected that was mostly due to the age gap between them. She remembered wanting to be just like Willa when she was younger, despite how much Willa had picked on her.  
  
“Where are they now?”  
  
“They were both still sleeping when I left for work this morning. I think they’ll probably be there most of the day considering how much they drank, and the fact that they didn’t go to bed until about 3 AM.”  
  
Waverly really looked at her oldest sister for the first time since entering the office. The dark puffed up skin just under her eyes were a clear indication she probably hadn’t gotten any sleep either. She felt bad that she’d turned her phone to silent all day, she hadn’t expected Nicole and Wynonna would go out and get drunk the whole time. For the first time in a long time she really appreciated having Willa around, she’d always tried to be the voice of reason, the only one who was successful at reeling Wynonna in, even if just a little bit. She wanted to tell her how much she appreciated everything she’d done for them, she was really trying to form the words when the buzzing of her phone in her pocket distracted her.  
  
“Tucker’s in the hospital.” Beth practically yelled before Waverly could even say hello.

**Author's Note:**

> Some may remember this fic being posted before. I accidentally deleted it while trying to delete my other one. Oops. I will be starting over and plan to release a chapter a week.


End file.
